


Vampires do not sparkle

by dont_hate_me01



Category: NCIS, Supernatural
Genre: Language, Life Mates, M/M, Monsters, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-19 13:58:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17002974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dont_hate_me01/pseuds/dont_hate_me01
Summary: With the discovery of two bodies, NCIS' world get turned upside down when they realize that monsters are real.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jane_x80](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_x80/gifts).



> **Note 1:**[jane_x80](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jane_x80), I hope you will enjoy this story. It was a great honor in writing this for you!
> 
> **Note 2** : To [jesco0307](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesco0307) who was my beta for this story, once again a HUGE thank you! If it wasn't for all of your help, this story wouldn't have seen the light of day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luther is killed in 2006 – 12 July 2006 (Supernatural season 1).
> 
> This story happens in 2011 (NCIS season 8 before episode Baltimore). Season 6 is where Gibbs chooses Tony over Ziva and Season 7 is where Ziva gets rescued.
> 
> Last part of the epilogue takes place in 2018.

**Chapter 1 ******

**Washington D.C. 2011**

Dean checked his tie in the side mirror of the Impala, before he made his way over to the cordoned off scene on the corner of the street. With a casual flip of his wrist to show his ID Dean ducked underneath the police tape and made his way to where the body was. He managed not to grimace at the sight that greeted him. “Poor bastard,” Dean muttered. He knew what the official cause of death will be, but he had a feeling that some aspects in the autopsy report will not make much sense to most people.

He looked around. His eyes were looking for signs of things that were on the scene, but weren’t supposed to be there. Dean’s eye landed on what appeared to be a fang and he walked closer. He hunkered down and grinned. “Gotcha.” He reached out when a pair of very shiny and expensive shoes appeared next to him. Dean looked up and took a double look. He grinned and got to his feet. He made sure his shoe covered the tooth he just found.

“Can I help you?” Dean kept the smile on his face.

The man with the green eyes stared at him. A small smile decorated his face as well. “You can tell me who you are for starters. And then you can tell me what you’re doing on my crime scene.”

Dean managed to stay relaxed as he reached for his ID. “FBI Agent McCarty.” Before he could replace the ID in his pocket it was taken out of his hand. Their fingers brushed, and Dean swallowed. The accidental touch sent shivers down his spine and even his cock twitched in his trousers.

“Agent Henry McCarty.” The green-eyed man’s smile grew wider. “Your parents’ big gunslinger fans?”

Dean managed to stay calm. It wasn’t every day that he got called out on this ID. In fact, in the five or six years he’d used this identification he never got called out. He shrugged. “And let me tell you, when the boys in school found out I was named after Billy the Kid, I suffered for it at school.”

“Mm, I can believe that.”

Dean held out his hand for his ID. “And you are?”

Green eyes reached into his own pocket. “NCIS, Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.” Dean got a look at the agent’s credentials before it got placed back in his jacket pocket.

Dean nodded. He had heard about the agency, but never before come across an NCIS agent. “Didn’t realize the victim was a sailor.” He only had a name. What interested him more, was the cause of death. It meant he was on the right track. There were some things that didn’t add up, but that he would figure out later.

Agent DiNozzo looked at the body they stood next to and sighed. “Marine actually.” DiNozzo looked at the man next to him. “Why is the FBI interested?”

Dean cleared his throat. He had a feeling he needed to tread carefully. “Matter got flagged due to two similar cases out of state.” He didn’t say that it was actually seven and not two. He also didn’t add that as far as he knew, the FBI had no clue about the different deaths.

Agent DiNozzo nodded again. He was about to speak up when a voice at his back sounded up.

“DiNozzo! Pick up your dates after working hours and not at my crime scenes.”

Dean looked on as the man in front of him actually blushed. For a moment he looked shy, but then a mask slid over his face and all emotions got stripped. Dean watched as the NCIS agent squared his shoulders. He looked straight at Dean and gave him a cocky smile which Dean couldn’t resist returning. The agent reached into his pocket and handed Dean a business card. Dean took it without a word. He looked on as the man in front of him did a quick turnabout and almost marched away. Dean’s eyes followed his every move and he couldn’t help but to notice the great ass. Dean smiled.

“Hey!” Dean jogged and closed the distance between them. “You didn’t take mine.” He grinned from ear to ear as the green-eyed agent cocked his head at him. He took the card from Dean’s hands and their fingers touched again. He then continued his almost march.

“Damn, I do hope I’ll get the chance to get to know you better Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.” Dean walked to the police tape and ducked underneath it and made his way back to where he had parked the Impala. He would hang around until NCIS had left and then he would see what he could find.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Tony ducked beneath the hand that threatened to slap him on the back of the head. He grinned as he turned and found Gibbs glaring at him. He understood that his team leader was in a bad mood. He actually felt the same.

“What did you find out, DiNozzo?” Gibbs looked at his second in command, but also his best friend. Even ten years later he still didn’t regret that day in Baltimore when he offered Tony a job.

“Well, I could’ve gotten more than just a telephone number of that FBI agent, but someone decided to call me back.” Tony started to joke, but the look on Gibbs’ face told him now was not the time to do that. He sighed.

“Okay, so our victim is Marine First-Class Petty Officer Michael Priest. He failed to report for duty two days back and his CO decided to send someone to Priest’s apartment as it was totally out of character for our Petty Officer not to be diligent in his work. There was no sign of him at the apartment, although it seemed to have been ransacked. He was reported missing by the same CO. Balboa’s team picked the case up, but since we picked up the body, Mike has already transferred all they got on Priest to us. I’ve sent McGee to go and have a look at the apartment and I’m planning on going to the CO, Captain Fry, to inform him of Priest’s death as soon as Ducky takes away the body.”

“And the FBI agent?” Gibbs face held a rare smile as a faint blush appeared on Tony’s face. His second in command had given it straight to him within the first forty-eight hours of working together. He was bi-sexual, loved to chase beautiful women and men and since DADT had nothing to do with them as a civilian organization it had nothing to do with anyone at NCIS. Tony said the only reason he told him was so that when Gibbs found out he dated a man later on; the conversation wouldn’t be uncomfortable. But Gibbs also knew, that Tony kept his more serious relationship quiet. He boasted about the pretty girls he took out, but when it came to the men in his life, he was far more tight lipped about them and they tended to last longer. Gibbs was aware that the last time Tony had been in a stable relationship was a few years back. It ended after Kate got killed. He’s not even sure that McGee or Ziva knew that Tony dated men.

Tony frowned. “I need to get back to you on that.”

“Why?” Gibbs sported a frown of his own as he took the last drag of coffee from the takeout cup.

“My spidey senses are going off.” He shrugged. “It also might not be anything, Boss.”

Gibbs looked at Tony. Tony’s _spidey senses_ were just as finely tuned as his gut. “Keep me in the loop.”

“Will do.” Tony turned when he heard Doctor Mallard coming up behind them. He grinned when he spotted Jimmy as well. “How are you, Jimmy?” He looked on as Doctor Mallard’s assistant smiled back at him. His glasses had shifted to the bottom of his nose and he pushed them back up.

“Doctor Mallard just told me about an interesting case he had in the late seventies.” Jimmy started talking, but then saw the look on Gibbs’ face and piped down. “I’ll tell you later.”

Tony slapped him on the shoulder. “We’ll do just that.” He turned to Ducky. “What do you have, Ducky?” He grinned when Gibbs glared at him.

Doctor Mallard shook his head. Once, he described Tony as a human being with narcissistic tendencies, something that he wished he’d never done. There wasn’t a day that didn’t go by that Tony blew that profile of his to pieces. “Well, Anthony, I will know more once I get Petty Officer Priest on my autopsy table, but for now I would say exsanguination.”

Tony wanted to make a remark but remained quiet when he felt Gibbs’ eyes on him. They’d all seen how deadly pale the body appeared. There wasn’t a speck of blood on the scene, so it was clear that the Petty Officer hadn’t been killed here. Instead, Tony nodded. “Boss, I’m heading to meet the CO, you tagging along?”

Gibbs shook his head. “I’ll grab a lift with Ducky.”

“Okay.” Tony took out his sunglasses and with a grin headed to their sedan. He wanted to know more about Petty Officer Priest, but first, he also had another call to make.

*****SESA 2018 *****

When the NCIS team, including their medical examiner finally left the scene, Dean went back. This time it was much easier to get access. People had already lost interest in what had happened since the body was removed. He made his way over to where the body previously had been and scanned the area intently. He grinned when he saw the tooth from earlier. It would’ve been easily missed as it was hidden between different pieces of garbage. The only reason he saw it the first time was because he knew what to look for. He gently picked it up between his thumb and his forefinger and grimaced when he saw what he held in his hand. “I hate it when I’m right.” He grumbled under his breath as he tucked the tooth into his trouser pocket. Dean looked around some more, but finding nothing else, he decided it was time for a break. He was hungry, and he could do with a slice of pie, or even two.

Dean got into the Impala and headed back to the motel. He would change into something less stifling and then go for dinner. Luckily, it wouldn’t be hard to get a decent meal.

Dean entered his motel room and looked at the board he’d set up to the side. He ignored the pang of guilt he experienced as he focused his attention on the board. Dean took out the tooth from his pocket and placed it with the others he already had. Forgetting about his hunger for now, Dean started to update the board and added what he knew. At least, while he waited for NCIS to leave, he’d managed to hack into the Navy Records center and downloaded all the information they had on the dead sailor. It wasn’t much to go on and he’d have to sit down and see if he could find a possible connection between the latest victim and the others before the sun came up the following morning. But first it was time for dinner and then pie.

*****SESA 2018 *****

“You sure?” Tony asked as he turned the card he held in his hand. It was made of a good quality paper and on the surface, it actually looked legit. But it seemed that it was fake, and he felt something inside himself that he couldn’t describe. He ended the call and leaned back in the driver’s seat. “There’s something hinky going on here, Tony.” He tapped the card against the steering wheel.

Tony took his phone and pressed one. It didn’t take long for the phone to be answered.

“Boss, I spoke to Priest’s CO. Nothing came up. The Petty Officer was a hard worker, would go the extra mile and had good relationships with everyone else he worked with. The CO did mention a new girlfriend, but he didn’t have a name. I’ll let Abby check out Priest’s cell phone to see if we can find her.”

Tony nodded his head as Gibbs spoke. “I’ve already spoken to McGee. He had no luck at the apartment, except to say that Priest wasn’t killed there.” Tony tried to stifle a yawn and laughed when Gibbs ordered him to get coffee and not to fall asleep behind the wheel. “I won’t, Boss.” He ended the call. Tony reached for the key to start the car, but then let go of the key. He leaned back with his hands on the steering wheel. A grin appeared on his face.

He looked at the number on the card and keyed it into his phone. It rang twice.

_“Agent McCarty.”_

“Agent McCarty, it’s Special Agent DiNozzo.”

_“Agent DiNozzo, what can I do for you?”_

Tony smiled. He had a feeling he’d be able to listen to this man’s voice for hours. He wondered how he sounded when he sang. “Want to grab dinner?” Tony slapped himself at the back of the head. That was not what he wanted to ask. He could hear the man on the other side chuckle and wished he could take the words back.

_“I just had dinner, I’m sorry. But, what about tomorrow night?”_

Tony took a deep breath. He was playing with fire. “Sound’s good. I’ll call you again.” He ended the call before the man on the other side could respond. Gibbs was going to kill him when he found out what he’d done, but that would be later. For now, he was safe. Tony finally started the sedan and headed back to HQ. They still had a long evening ahead of them.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**NCIS: Autopsy**

“What do you have for me, Ducky?” Gibbs asked as the doors swished open and he stormed in.

“Ah, Jethro. Just in time.” Doctor Mallard leaned back in his chair. “I was about to call you.” He took off his glasses, wiped his face with his hand and placed the spectacles back. “This is one very peculiar case. I even needed to reprimand Mister Palmer in order for him to stay in line.”

Gibbs frowned. “What did you find, Ducky?”

Ducky came to his feet and crossed the distance between his desk and where the body of Petty Officer Priest was still displayed. “Take a look at this.” Ducky donned a pair of gloves with practiced ease and turn the head of the man to the right. “Have a look.”

Gibbs leaned in and frowned. “It looks like a bite mark.” He looked around and spotted Ducky’s magnifying glass to the side. Gibbs picked it up and took a second look at the wound. “It has the shape of a human bite mark, but I’ve never seen a bite pattern like this before, Ducky.”

Ducky shook his head. “I’ve already instructed Mister Palmer to make a mold for us of the bite mark. It will be ready tomorrow morning.”

Gibbs took another look and then straightened. “Is that the reason why he lost all of his blood, Ducky?”

Ducky remained silent as he made his way over to his chair. “I have taken samples from around the mark and send it to Abigail for further analysis. I do hope she will be able to provide us with a proper DNA sample.”

“Ducky, you haven’t answered my question.”

“I know, Jethro and in all honesty, I do not want to answer your question.”

Gibbs cocked his head. “Are you saying it is the source for the blood loss?”

“I have not reached my final conclusion yet, Jethro.”

Gibbs frowned. “What is going on here, Ducky? What is it that has you so nervous?”

Ducky made his way over to the large steel cabinet to the side of the office and opened it up. He took out two tumblers and a bottle. He placed all three items on his desk and indicated for Gibbs to take a seat. “I want to tell you a story, and I need you to listen to it. You do not want to do anything else, except to listen. Do you understand, Jethro?”

“Ducky?”

“Do you understand?” Ducky snapped.

“I understand.”

“Good.” Ducky took the bottle and even as he tried to keep his hands steady, he failed miserably. When a hand settled above his, he sighed. “Make it a double please, Jethro.” He smiled as his friend poured them both a strong drink and accepted the offered glass with a nod of the head. He took a sip of the amber colored liquor and closed his eyes. “I never thought I would have to talk about this ever again, but now it seems like I do not have a choice in the matter.”

Ducky took another sip and placed the tumbler to the side. He took a deep breath. “In the seventies I was stationed in Rhodesia. Now it is known as Zimbabwe. It was such a beautiful rich country. I landed up there after a horrible accident in one of the gold mines and we were tasked with assisting in the identification of the deceased. Unfortunately, the number ended up being deep into the hundreds. It was the largest mining accident in that country’s history.”

Ducky got to his feet and paced the room. “While there, a body was brought in that was not part of the deceased persons’ from the mining accident. It was that of a young teenage girl. If you took a quick look at her, one would have been able to mistake her for being asleep. Except for one thing. She had a similar gaping wound to the back of her neck and her body was drained. There was not a drop of blood left in her body.”

Ducky looked at his friend. “My immediate thought was that we were dealing with some sort of wild animal. It did not matter that I could not think of a single animal whose bite mark would fit the wound I saw on the young girl, or that a wild animal would not leave no other injuries on its prey.” Ducky poured himself another drink.

“After I conferred with my colleagues, I noted the cause of death as exsanguination caused by a wild animal. The case was closed. Except, that it was not. Within the next month another ten bodies were brought in and by that time more than one rumor or wild story had been making the rounds. From bad spirits to witchcraft, to vampires. Now, I have always been open minded, but the mere thought of something like a vampire made me roll my eyes. And it was definitely not a bat, as the circumference of the wound was too large. One specific tribe had the most deaths. Eight out of the eleven deaths and the other tribes began to say that someone in that tribe was a vampire and was responsible for the deaths. It would only end if that person was caught and dealt with.”

Ducky bowed his head. “I will not bore you with all the gory details, except to say that after some sort of investigation a young man was identified as the culprit and he was hunted. They had tried to kill him in different ways, but he didn’t die. The police, nor the military intervened as they all said it was a tribal matter and therefor, they had no jurisdiction.” Ducky took off his glasses and laid them on the desk. He rubbed his hands across his face.

“That young man not only survived, but he escaped. Now, what you need to remember, Jethro is that while they had this young man incarcerated no one else died. However, after he escaped the deaths started up again. About two months later he was caught again, and they had him chained like a dog and I saw him with my own eyes, and he looked like some deranged human. I tried to plea to the elders to hand him over to the local authorities and that he needed help, but they did not want to listen.” Ducky shuddered.

“He had done something to his teeth. He must have used a file to sharpen his teeth. All of his teeth were razor sharp. Then he tried to escape again, and I found myself right in his path. I tried to stop him, and he attacked me. He went straight for my neck. I can still smell this breath. It smelt worse than death. I tried to get him off me, but he was super strong. I did not give up, but his teeth clamped down on my throat and I knew I had come to the end of my life. And then there was this _swishing_ sound through the air and something hot splashed onto my face, but the pressure in my neck was done. I had turned my head and there right in front of my eyes was the head of this man. I saw the last flicker of life in his eyes, but more importantly I saw his teeth. I’d witnessed how those elongated fangs shrunk back into the gums and instead, the only teeth he remained with, were his normal teeth. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it.” Ducky took a shuddering breath. “After he was beheaded, no one else died as a result of exsanguination.”

“Ducky?” Gibbs took a sip of his own drink. “Are you saying there are things like vampires?”

Ducky shook his head. “I do not know. For someone like me, who is always looking for the answers, that is the one topic I do not want to delph into. I do not want to know. Call me an ostrich and let me bury my head in the sand, but I really do not want to know.” He picked up his glass and took the final swig of liquid. Ducky came to his feet. “You will have my final report on your desk tomorrow morning, Jethro. Good night.” He walked over to the coat rack and removed his hat. Without looking back, he exited the office and disappeared from Gibbs’ sight.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Tony looked up as Gibbs stormed into the bullpen. It looked like he was in the center of a category five hurricane and Tony sighed in relief that he had sent McGee and Ziva home. “Boss?” He called out as he came to his feet.

“What do you have, DiNozzo and it better be something believable and not some Oogie boogie nonsense.” Gibbs flung the file he had in his hand so hard that the contents spilled out and landed either on the desk or on the floor.

Tony caught Mike Balboa’s gaze across from him and gave a small shake of his head. He indicated towards the elevator that Mike should clear out. The rest of the bullpen had emptied hours ago. He would handle Gibbs’ tantrum on his own. “You want to tell me what’s going on, Gibbs?”

Gibbs growled and slammed his fist onto his desk. “There’s nothing _going on_ , DiNozzo. I asked you a question. Can you answer me, or not?” He’d closed the distance between them and stood toe to toe with Tony.

“If the question is, did I do my job? Then the answer is yes. If the question is, did I make progress in the case? Then the answer is not really. We went through Priest’s finances and it came back clean. He did not have a social media platform and unfortunately, we still haven’t found out who the girlfriend is or even where she is. But, since it’s still early in the investigation, I am confident that we will find her, and we will solve this case.” Tony stayed exactly where he was.

“Go home, DiNozzo.” Gibbs growled as he spun around and moved towards his own desk.

“You should do the same, Gibbs.” Tony picked up his bag and swung it across his shoulder. He didn’t look back as he left the orange walls of the bullpen and his boss behind. He would follow up and go to Priest’s apartment as he wanted to interview the neighbors. McGee had struck out this morning as everyone was at work. Tony hoped to have better luck now. Hopefully by tomorrow they’d have more to go on and Gibbs would be in a better mood.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Abby frowned as she once again ran the samples through Major Mass Spec. The results remained the same, it didn’t matter what she did, but she would try again. There must be something wrong. The door to her lab opened and Gibbs stormed in.

“Gibbs?” Abby took a step forward, but then came to a halt. Where she could always go to Gibbs and hug him, something in his demeanor made her stop. She wasn’t scared of him, but he made her feel uncomfortable.

“Tell me what you have, Abby.”

Abby shrugged. “Nothing much, Gibbs. Major Mass Spec is acting a bit hinky as none of the results he’s produced so far make sense, Gibbs.” Abby turned to her computer and brought up the different sets of results. She indicated to the screen. “See, it’s just not right.”

“Abby,” Gibbs growled. “What. Do. You. Have?”

Abby’s eyes grew large. Never before had Gibbs used that tone of voice on her. She swallowed hard.

“Tell me!” Gibbs slammed the palm of his hand onto the counter. He saw how Abby flinched. But he didn’t have time. He needed answers.

“I’ve extracted a DNA profile from the sample sent up by Ducky, but I can’t match it to _anything_ in any of the databases I’ve got access to. It’s clearly humanoid, but it’s not human and it’s definitely not animal. I don’t know what type of DNA this is, Gibbs. Until Major Mass Spec gets his act together, I don’t have anything more for you.”

“You got a DNA profile?”

“Yes.” Abby nodded.

“But it’s not human?” Gibbs blanched as he repeated Abby’s words. He looked on as she shook her head.

“Is it animal?” He tried to remain calm, but Ducky’s story kept on running on a loop in his head.

“Unless it’s a new species, then no, I can’t say it’s animal either.” Abby stood where she was but shrugged her shoulders. “I really should let Major Mass Spec run a self-diagnostic scan on himself through the night. Hopefully, he’ll feel better in the morning and will give me better results.”

“I want answers, Abby and I want them soon. Make it happen.” Gibbs turned and stormed out. He didn’t see the tears Abby wiped from her cheek or how her hands trembled with fear.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**Gibbs’ basement**

When the mason jar hit the wall and shattered into small pieces, Gibbs knew he had to pull himself back. He had to calm down and he had to do it immediately. He knew what had him on edge. It was Ducky. Never in all the years he had known the man had he seen the medical examiner so beleaguered as what he had today. It had shaken him to his own core and he had acted in the only way he knew how. He took the second _b_ in his last name and draped it over himself like a second skin. He was a proper bastard and he took it out on everyone around him. He had scared Abby and that made his hands shake. He had offered no comfort to Ducky and it made him cringe. He had dismissed Tony out of hand, where he well knew that Tony would have done more than a hundred percent in his job and that made him bow his head. It seemed like he would have to break his own rule tomorrow. He would have to apologize. Hopefully, he’d be able to undo the damage his behavior caused this day.

Gibbs made his way to the basement stairs to get a broom to clean up the glass when his phone rang in his pocket. He took it out as he climbed to the top. “Inform my team where the scene is.” He ended the call and bowed his head. He reached the top, grabbed his go-bag and retrieved his weapon from the safe. As he headed out of the house, he contacted his second in command.

“We got a second body. Meet me at the scene.” He didn’t wait for Tony to respond as he disconnected the call. He didn’t want to recall Ducky’s words. He didn’t want to think about what Ducky had told him. There was no such thing as vampires. They did not exist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tony couldn’t stifle the yawn that escaped as he exited his Mustang and crossed the street. He couldn’t believe their luck. He knew that this case had to do with Petty Officer Priest’s. If it wasn’t, then Mike’s team would’ve picked it up. He spotted Gibbs and headed his way. It didn’t come as a surprise to see the senior agent still dressed in yesterday’s clothes.

“What do we have, Boss?” He stifled another yawn and even shook his head to see if that wouldn’t help.

“Drink.”

A cup got shoved in his hands and from the aroma he knew it was his favorite coffee. “Thanks, Gibbs.” Tony took a deep sip and sighed. He could feel the caffeine doing its job. “Better.” Tony grinned. “You going to fill me in, Boss?”

Gibbs tried not to glare, but the look that Tony gave him made him well aware of the fact that he failed miserably. “Dead, First Class Seaman Nathan Stiles. Apparent death seems to be exsanguination.”

Tony groaned. “Seriously?” He looked at Gibbs. “I hate serial killers, Boss.”

Gibbs nodded. He agreed with Tony on that point. And not only because they’d be dealing with a deranged human being that likes killing people and, in most instances, loves to brag about it, but Tony always ended up either in their clutches or injured. “There’s more.”

“There always is.” Tony walked with Gibbs to where the body was. The area wasn’t well lit, and they both had flash lights with them. He sighed as he hunkered down. He’d covered his nose and mouth with his hand and tried not to breath in the pungent odor from the severely decomposed body. “Let me guess, he’s been AWOL for a while now.”

“Two months.” Gibbs had already pulled up the records of their dead seaman.

Tony inspected the body but didn’t touch it. He would only do that once Ducky gave him the go ahead. Thinking of Ducky made him look up? “Where’s Ducky?”

“Palmer is on his way.”

Tony frowned, but chose not to ask questions. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone being tied with hemp, Gibbs.” He looked at the pieces of rope that circled their victim’s wrist. He looked down and found the same rope type around the ankles. He saw the deep abrasions on the wrists and knew that their Seaman continually tried to rid himself of the bindings.

Tony got to his feet and looked around. They were in a large open area. There was not a building in sight. “Who found the body?”

Gibbs indicated to a woman who stood next to an older make of sedan. “Her car broke down. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think we would’ve been notified about the body today.”

Tony walked around the naked body. He didn’t see any footprints, especially not of a person walking without shoes. “He was dumped.”

Gibbs grunted in agreement. He’d reached the same conclusion. He looked on as Tony went on his haunches again.

“And he’s been here for more than seventy-two hours.” Tony got up. “And with that, our chances of getting a tire thread on the vehicle who dumped him went out of the window. And then I’m not even talking about the fact that most of the evidence that we might’ve gotten from the body now also washed away.”

Gibbs nodded.

“I’ll get started on the photos, Boss.” Tony walked to his own car and retrieved the camera from the trunk. He heard the roar of a Chevy Impala and looked up. He cocked his head when a familiar figure got out. “Billy the Kid.” Tony frowned. He would have to make sure that the guy did not get close to their crime scene. Until he figured a few things out, he would not jeopardize their case.

“Agent McCarty.” Tony walked towards the suited-up man with a grin on his face.

“You do know that the FBI never comes to a crime scene this early in the morning? Especially with the sun not even out for the day. Are you sure you’re FBI?” Tony kept his tone light but made sure to look the freckled man in the eyes. 

“I’ve been told that before, Agent DiNozzo.”

“Then what brings you here?”

“My job.” Dean replied with a snap, but immediately put up his hands. “I am sorry. I am not a morning person, and since I’ve yet to inhale my first couple of cups of coffee, I am grumpy.”

Without meaning to, Tony burst out laughing. “Sounds like someone else I know.” He became serious. “But really, what brings you here?”

Dean took a breath. “Heard that it might be related to your other case.”

Tony nodded. “It might, but it’s also way too early to reach such a conclusion. Why don’t you go and get some coffee? If this case is related to ours, I’ll make sure you get copies of all the reports.”

“You sure?” Dean smiled. He hated to take advantage of this NCIS agent. The man seemed really sweet, but he could do with coffee as well and food. He was hungry – again.

“I’m sure.” Tony nodded towards the car. “Get into that sweet ride of yours and go.”

Dean nodded. “I can do that.” Dean turned, but then turned back. “Want to do dinner tonight?”

It was Tony’s turn to smile. “If the case doesn’t keep us busy for too late, I’ll meet you for dinner. I’ll text you.”

“Good.” Dean got back into the Impala.

Tony stood and waited until the car disappeared before he went back to the scene. He noted that Ziva and McGee both had joined Gibbs. He grabbed his notebook and made a quick entry. He would follow up on that later. “Nice of you two to join us.” He said with a grin, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He’d personally called both of them and yet, although they both lived closer than him on this side of the city it took them twice as long to get here. Both of them have been slacking off more and more. And, as expected, they ignored him. Tony shook his head and continued with his work as he started to photograph the scene.

They all worked in silence and soon the scene was processed. Tony had found what looked to be an animal fang close to the body. He’d taken photos of it and bagged it. He’d ignored Ziva’s snide remark when she saw what he did. He’d stopped trying to help her at crime scenes. It was clear that she wasn’t interested in what he had to say. At least, McGee still listened sometimes.

Finally, Jimmy showed up. With no one to assist him with the body, Tony helped out. He frowned when he saw the wounds on the back of the Seaman’s neck. It looked like some wild animal went to town on the man. The rest of the body was covered in small bite marks, but that’s from the rodents that nibbled on the body.

“Did Petty Officer Priest’s body also have wounds like that, Jimmy?” Tony took a closer look at the wounds.

“Yeah, he did. But only one. This poor Seaman was bitten pretty badly.” Jimmy replied as he continued with the body. He didn’t meet Tony’s gaze.

“What type of animal bite mark is that?”

Jimmy looked up and swallowed. He looked nervous. “Please don’t ask me any more questions. I am not at liberty to answer by order of Doctor Mallard himself.”

Tony stood with his mouth open. Never before did something like this happen. He finally managed to nod. He helped with the gurney and finally they pushed the body into the back of the van. Tony closed the doors.

“Tony?” Jimmy sounded hesitant.

“Yes, my autopsy gremlin?”

“Are you angry with me for not telling you?”

Tony smiled and shook his head. “You forget with whom I work, Jimmy. I’m used to not knowing everything.”

“No, Tony, it’s not like that.” Jimmy gulped. “Yesterday evening I overheard a conversation between Doctor Mallard and Agent Gibbs. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop or anything. But then Doctor Mallard left in a hurry and I could see how distraught he was and when Agent Gibbs left it looked like he was about to explode.” He swallowed. “I decided to go to Doctor Mallard’s home last night to see if he was okay. He was horribly upset with me, but it sounded like he was upset with himself. He told me that I’m not to discuss any of our findings with anyone on the team unless he authorized it himself.”

Tony nodded. Now it made sense why Gibbs looked like he did last night. He placed his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. “I really understand, thank you, Jimmy.”

Jimmy nodded. “I’ll be heading back to autopsy. I’ll prepare the body for Doctor Mallard. I do hope he’ll inform you and Agent Gibbs of his findings soon.”

“He will, Jimmy. Thank you.” Tony looked on as Jimmy got into the large van and drove off. He found Gibbs standing at his back. “You gonna tell me what’s going on, Boss?”

“Later. Meet me at the office.” Gibbs turned and left.

Tony sighed. It was going to be a long day.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Dean had driven off until he reached what looked like a suburb, but he had no idea which one it was. He parked the Impala and stay seated behind the wheel. He would wait a while and then return. He needed to check out the scene for himself. He reached out and grabbed the journal on the passenger seat. He pushed down the thoughts that threatened to claw their way to the surface as he thought about another journal. Now was not the time to dwell on the pass. He’d done what he had to do.

He grabbed a pen and started making notes. It’s been five years since he first started hunting this particular group of vampires. Normally he had no problem in finding and getting rid of the monsters, but this pack proofed to be more resilient. For one, they moved a lot. They didn’t seem to follow a specific route or had any pattern to their movements that he could see, but they stayed organized. They would never kill more than three (four at the most) before moving on to the next _random_ place. Dean had marked each death on a large map. He had detailed notes on each victim, and except for the last two, he couldn’t find any link between them. He still didn’t have any idea on why they’d decide to go after military personnel. The investigations into the deaths would be more thorough, placing more heat on them. Something must’ve happened for this change. He just had to find out what.

Dean yawned and looked at the time and was surprised how much time had passed. He closed the journal and got out of the Impala. He’d been seated for far too long and needed to stretch his legs for a few seconds. He took a deep breath and his stomach growled as a delicious odor reached his nose. He looked around and smiled. He would have a snack first and some hot coffee. Then he would go out to the scene. He leaned in, grabbed the keys out of the ignition and let his nose lead him to where he wanted to be.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**NCIS Bullpen**

“What do have for me?” Gibbs turned the corner and took a seat behind his desk. It had been a slow morning and an even slower early afternoon.

Tony got to his feet and used the remote of the plasma screen. “Except for the fact that both Priest and Stiles served their country, they grew up worlds apart. Priest grew up in a stable and loving environment, where Stiles were orphaned at the age of eight. He was sent to different group homes throughout his life until he turned eighteen and left the system. Despite him being sent from one home to the other he never got in trouble with the law and enlisted just after he graduated from high school. May I add that he was valedictorian.”

Tony clicked to the next picture. “Stiles disappeared after he went on leave and failed to return to base. He was deemed to have deserted after the investigation revealed that his bank account has been emptied and closed. His apartment was emptied, and they found his truck at a second-hand car dealer where he apparently sold it.”

Gibbs frowned. “Things are not adding up.”

“Agreed.” Tony sat down on the corner of Gibbs’ table. “Up until the day Stiles disappeared, there had been no indication that he would ever do something like that. I’ve already requested more information at the bank branch where he closed his account, including any video footage they still might have. I’ve contacted the car dealer and they promised to send me a copy of the sale’s agreement.”

“What about the apartment?”

Tony grinned. “Spoke to the new building superintendent. It seems that the previous one didn’t like Stiles and when Stiles failed to return to his apartment, the man decided to take Stiles furniture for himself as he alleged that Stiles owed him money. He was later on fired for other non-related issues. I am still busy tracking him down.”

“Any girlfriend? And what about Priest’s girlfriend, have we found her yet?”

Tony nodded. “Another hinky part of things, Gibbs. Stiles never spoke about a girlfriend, to such an extent that from what I found out he was called the _Lone Ranger_.” Tony rolled his eyes. “Yes, terrible, I know.” He shook his head. “But then approximately a month before his disappearance he started talking about this girl. The thing is, no one ever saw her and that’s what I also found out about Priest’s girlfriend. None of his friends ever laid eyes on the mysterious woman.”

“She’s the link.”

“I agree.” Tony got to his feet. “I’m on my way to speak to Stiles’ CO and see if I can talk to some of his team mates.”

“Go.” Gibbs got to his own feet. He had to go and talk to Ducky, he couldn’t ignore the older man forever. He also had to go and talk to Abby.

“On it, Boss.” Tony rounded his own table and grabbed his weapon and go-bag.

“Tony,” Gibbs called out.

“Yes, Boss?”

“Watch your six.”

Tony cocked his head. “I will, Boss.”

Both men nodded before they went in their different directions.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**Dean’s motel room**

Dean was beyond frustrated. It had been a day where he didn’t make one inch of progress. Now, the sun was going down and he still had no idea on where the vampire nest was or even who was part of the nest.

He went back to the scene in the hope to find something he could use, but there was nothing. He didn’t know if NCIS found anything, or if there was nothing to be found since it had rained and the likelihood that possible evidence might have washed away was huge.

Dean had tried to do a search on the two victims but found almost nothing on either of them on through social media and there was no link between them through their service records. It left him frustrated and in the dark. It was on days like this that he thought of Sam. Dean jumped to his feet. Now was not the time to think about his brother. Especially if he wanted to stay sober enough to see this fucking job through.

He picked up the phone and thumbed through his recent calls. His finger stopped at the top number. “Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo.” Dean grinned. He needed a distraction, but he also needed information. Without thinking twice, he pressed the call button and then he waited.

Dean liked the warm feeling he felt in the pit of his stomach when he heard the man’s voice on the other side of the line.

“I’m sorry, I know you said you’d call, but…” Dean grinned when he heard the special agent laugh.

_“But you’re scared I won’t call as you don’t think I’m really interested?”_

“So, you are interested, Agent DiNozzo?” Dean held his breath. He’d heard the teasing tone of voice but didn’t want to get his hopes up. Although, something else of him had no difficulty in getting up.

“Hello? You there?” Silence greeted him, and Dean frowned. For a moment he wondered if he’d been too forward.

_“It’s Tony and sorry, it’s been a while, since I’ve been so forward. Yes, I am interested.”_

“Tony.” Dean smiled. “Awesome. Are you able to grab dinner?” Dean asked as he held his breath. He heard the sigh and his shoulder sagged.

_“I won’t be able to make it, but what about breakfast? I know this diner that’s open twenty-four-seven and they’ve got this amazing bacon and pancake stack that you have to try.”_

Dean knew Tony couldn’t see him, but he couldn’t help as he nodded his head to agree to breakfast. “Text me the address and the time and I’ll meet you there.”

_“I’ll do that, Agent McCarty.”_

“Henry, you can call me Henry.”

_“Henry. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”_

The call ended, and Dean continued to smile. It didn’t matter that he was on the trail of a brutal nest of vampires, he had a date, be it a breakfast date, but for once in a long time, he was looking forward to something good.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**NCIS Bullpen**

Tony threw his go-bag behind his desk and sat down heavily in his chair. He scowled when he saw that both McGee and Ziva’s desks were tidied and he knew that they’d left for the night. He also knew that Gibbs wouldn’t have let them go if he didn’t want to, but it pissed him off that he and Gibbs were always the two that had to work the extra hours, while the juniors went home.

“They’ve been working on my nerves.” Gibbs’ voice sounded from the mezzanine floor and Tony turned to look at him.

“And you couldn’t glare them into submission? Or dealt out a head slap or two?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Didn’t have the time.” He came down the stairs and stopped at Tony’s desk. “What did you find out?”

“We’re working with a group of people, but I don’t know what their end game is.” Tony leaned back and placed his feet on the desk.

“You’ve got my attention.” Gibbs shifted on the corner of the desk to get comfortable.

“I spoke to Stiles’ CO as well as the rest of his teammates. Stiles was committed to the Marines, he didn’t want a girl in his life. He did one-night stands, but nothing more than that. Then, he started to tell everyone about this girl he’d met.”

“How long and did you get a description?”

Tony shook his head. “No one had met her before Stiles disappeared and they seemed to have hooked up about a month before he vanished. It’s exactly the same as with Priest. What bothers me, is the fact that no one in either Priest or in Stiles’ lives had met this mystery girlfriend. We’ve got no description to work with.”

“It can’t be.” Gibbs growled out in frustration.

“I agree. I’ve gone to several diners and local supermarkets in the areas where our two victims lived. I’ve requested for video footage of those places that said they remembered either Stiles or Priest.” Tony frowned. “What was strange was that very few people can remember seeing either of them with a girl, and then I couldn’t get a clear description out of anyone.”

“How’s that possible?”

Tony shrugged. “I’ve got no idea, but we’ll find her. And I am positive that it’s only one girl. She’s the bait and if we find her, we’ll find the rest of this killer group.”

Gibbs nodded and moved to his own desk.

“Was Ducky able to compare the marks on Stiles with Priest’s?”

“No. The body was too decomposed to attempt a match, and Abby couldn’t get any DNA of Stiles’ body either.”

“Zero forensic evidence.” Tony sighed. The cases just became so much harder. “What about the DNA on Priest?”

“Abby’s rerunning it.” Gibbs answered tersely. He still hadn’t had an opportunity to apologize to her and the two times he did have to speak to her, she’d kept her distance, didn’t meet his eyes and she still looked scared.

Tony cocked his head. “You’re most likely going to say to me to mind my own business, but what’s going on between you and Abby, and for that matter between you and Ducky, Boss? I think the whole of NCIS can feel the tension whenever you and either one of them are in the same room.”

Gibbs’ first instinct was to tell Tony that he was right, that it had nothing to do with him and that he should mind his own business. But it also had a direct influence on the case. “What do you think of vampires?” Gibbs found himself asking.

For a moment Tony was rendered speechless. “Mm, vampires?” He shook his head. “Like in real life or movies?” Tony shrugged. “I have to admit, Gibbs, you’re confusing me here. Are you serious, or yanking my chain?”

Gibbs snorted. “Dead serious.”

“Oh.” Tony looked at the man across from him. “They don’t exist. There are a large number of wane bees out there, but other than in movies, they’re all out of luck. And, I have to say, if I was a vampire, and I had to shine like glitter in the sun, I would personally stake myself.”

Gibbs frowned at Tony’s last statement. He had no idea what Tony was talking about. He also decided it was better not to ask. “Ducky believes in them, but he’s also in denial.”

Tony banged his head on his desk.

“What are you doing?” Gibbs came to his feet.

Tony looked up and frowned. “I’m sorry. I had to make sure I was awake. Did I hear you correctly, Ducky, our medical examiner, Doctor Mallard believes in vampires?”

Gibbs nodded. “And he’s in denial.”

Tony rose from his chair. “None of this is making any sense.” He stared at Gibbs. “You told Ducky he had to have his head examined? Is that why the two of you have been acting so weird?”

“No. Since he told me his story, he’s the one avoiding me.”

“Ducky? Avoiding you?” He shook his head. “I need to talk to Ducky, Gibbs.” Tony made his way around his desk.

“He already left for home.”

Both men turned when they heard the voice behind them.

“Abby?” Tony asked. He looked at their forensic expert. Her clothes looked wrinkled, her hair was untidy, and it looked like she hadn’t slept in days. He also noted that she kept her distance from Gibbs and he had to admit it to himself that scared him more than her physical appearance.

“I heard what you just said.” Abby looked only at Tony.

“And what do you think about that?” Tony inquired. He really wanted to know what Abby’s take on something like this would be. Especially since she was so open minded and truly loved the weird things in life.

“I dress like a Goth, and I sleep in a coffin. I do believe in ghosts, or should I say spirits, but I’m also a scientist. And for me to believe in certain things there has to be tangible evidence.” She looked at Tony again, but her eyes darted in Gibbs’ direction.

“What happened between the two of you?” Tony couldn’t take it anymore. “Spill, what’s going on?”

“I scared her.” Gibbs admitted softly.

“Why would you do that? Abby’s like your own daughter.”

“I was frustrated with what Ducky had told me.” He swallowed. “I also wasn’t satisfied with the lack of progress she’d made.”

“And then you took your grumpiness out on Abby.” Tony sighed. “You know, better than anyone else that Abby is always in your corner. She always goes more than that extra mile and once, just once because you were frustrated, you took it out on her?” Tony shook his head.

“I was wrong.” Gibbs opened his arms. Before he could utter another word, Abby collided with him. She sobbed against his chest. “I am sorry, Abby.” Gibbs placed a kiss on the top of her head. It made her cry harder.

It took a while, but finally Abby had calmed down enough for her to wipe her tears with a handkerchief handed to her by Tony. She looked up and a small smile appeared on her face. “Apology accepted.”

It was Gibbs turn to smile.

“Great, now that we’ve managed to derail that potentially lethal disaster, we’ve got a case to work on.” The slap to the back of his head was not hard and Tony smiled. “Got it, Boss.”

Abby had moved away from Gibbs and she knew both men had noticed this action immediately.

“Abby?” Gibbs asked, concerned. For a moment he thought she got scared again because he slapped Tony on the back of the head, but it wasn’t that. It was something more.

Abby’s hands shook as she rang them together. “I’ve repeated all of the tests again. I’ve run full diagnostics on Major Mass Spec, but it remained the same.”

Tony sighed. “Why do I have a feeling you’re about to confirm Ducky’s suspicion on vampires?”

Abby looked at Gibbs. “Remember I told you it’s humanoid, but not totally human and there are animal strains in the profile?”

Gibbs nodded.

“I tried again, Gibbs. I even took the sample over to one of my friends at the FBI and I tested it there. I didn’t tell them for what it was, but I just needed to make sure.”

“Did you find a match?”

Abby looked at them. “First, the results were exactly the same. It came back as humanoid with animal strains. But, although I didn’t find a match as to who’s _original_ DNA it is, it did come back to several open cases investigated by the FBI, including the unsolved deaths of a father and son a few years back.”

“Agent McCarty.” Tony mumbled the words more to himself than to Gibbs and Abby. It seems that there was truth in what the man alleged. But he still had to find out more before he said anything to Gibbs.

“Why is the FBI involved?” Tony focused on Abby.

“The first cases involved what looked like a group massacre. Ten bodies were found – all of them beheaded. The same strand of DNA was found.” Abby shook her head. “That’s not correct. It was _their_ DNA.” She looked at Gibbs and Tony. “Something happened in the labs and the original samples taken from the bodies were destroyed.”

“I don’t understand?” Gibbs frowned.

Abby held up her hand. “Sorry, I’m freaking out here and I’m not telling everything in order.” She closed her eyes for a second before she opened them up and started again. “When the first results came back it showed that all ten bodies shared the same DNA, which is impossible, because they were all different peopled. It was decided to re-test everything and that’s when they discovered that the original samples were destroyed.”

“What about the bodies?” Tony inquired.

“All of the bodies had disappeared from the morgue.” She looked down at her feet.

“What?” Gibbs and Tony asked together.

“I don’t know, Gibbs. You both know I don’t believe in conspiracy theories, but I’ll bet my coffin that someone tried to cover up this whole incident.”

“Abby?” Tony frowned.

“How did you get all of this information?” If what Abby said was true, he couldn’t think that the FBI would let that information lie around for anyone to stumble upon.

Abby shook her head. “That’s not important, not now.”

Tony groaned. He also knew now was not the time to lecture Abby on hacking into secure government sites. “The DNA you found on Priest, that is not his?”

“Yes, this DNA was from the wound at the back of his neck.” Abby confirmed.

“Was there anything strange with his own DNA?”

“No, Tony. Nothing.”

He took a deep breath. “The DNA of the ten missing bodies and the DNA found on Priest, are those the same?” He didn’t really want to know the answer, but he had to ask the question.

“Yes.”

“Fuck.” Tony dragged his hand over his face. It felt like he just aged by a hundred years in a couple of minutes. He looked up and found Gibbs’ staring at him. He had no idea what they’ve stepped into, but knew it was huge.

“I’ll speak to Vance.” Gibbs wished he could keep this information secret, but this case seemed to be much bigger than what they all thought. There was a possibility that someone at the FBI might realize that they’d been hacked and if it came back to Abby, they must have a contingency plan in place.

Tony looked at his watch. It was just after six in the morning. Yet another day went pass without getting any sleep, and instead of making headway into the case things became more muddled. “You spoke about another case?”

“Yes. Father and son. I think their last name was Winchester, but I’m not sure. The FBI believed that they were involved in the massacre but had no concrete evidence.”

“Their DNA the same as the ten?”

Abby shook her head. “No, but that DNA was found on them. In their wounds.”

Tony nodded. “I’ll go and talk to Agent McCarty and hear what he has to say about all of this.”

“Do that.” Gibbs placed another kiss on Abby’s forehead. “Go home and get some sleep.” He looked at Tony. “Watch your six and after that go and sleep as well, unless you find something.”

“Will do, Boss.” Tony grabbed his go-bag and as he swung it over his shoulder, he reached for his phone and dialed FBI agent McCarty. He had one stop to make and then it was time he and McCarty had that breakfast and he got some answers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Diner – 07:45**

“You look like hell.” Dean remarked as he pushed his full mug of coffee towards the man who took the seat across from him.

“Sorry, running on fumes.” Tony placed his go-bag on the seat next to him and smiled as he took the offered mug and slurped at the hot liquid. He grimaced at the taste. “You’re supposed to drink sugar in coffee, not coffee in sugar.”

Dean barked out laughing. “Sorry. I sometimes forget how others drink their coffee.” He took the mug back and both men smiled as the waitress appeared next to her with a pot of coffee.

Tony smiled as she filled him a mug of coffee and after he added the hazelnut cream, he took a sip and sighed. “Much better.”

They sat in silence drinking their coffee and studying the menu. When their waitress came back both men grinned as they ordered the same thing.

“How’s the case going?” Dean asked as the waitress walked away. “The second body connected?”

Tony nodded. “Marine, been missing for two months.”

“Same COD?”

“Mm,” Tony took another sip of his coffee. He placed the mug down, moved it to the side and leaned forward. It was time to cut to the chase. “You’re not FBI.”

Dean looked at the agent and he knew the mask he had so carefully constructed over the years slipped at the single sentence. Despite that, he couldn’t just back down. “Why do you say that?”

Tony shook his head. “I’m seen as the class clown and not really taken seriously. Most agents are of the opinion that Gibbs keeps me around for my smile. Some are so bold as to say that I must be a good fuck for the Boss to keep me on his team.” He took another sip of his coffee. “But they seem to forget, Gibbs doesn’t suffer fools. I’ve earned my place on his team as his second in command, and not because of my smile and definitely not because I’m a good fuck, but because I am good at what I do.” He moved around in the seat, his body tired after so many hours of being on the go.

“I love movies.” Tony continued as he shook his head. “No. That’s not the right statement. I am obsessed with movies. I don’t have an eidetic memory, but it’s close. And the one thing I am absolutely sure about is names. Unfortunately, I also have a history with the FBI and not a very pleasant one, but that’s beside the point. The point is, that I _know_ each name of every current FBI agent working in the field. I may not know exactly how the agent looks like, but I know the names. And there _is_ no Special Agent Henry McCarty working as an agent for the FBI. I also contacted a very good friend of mine just to make sure and she confirmed it.” Tony leaned forward with his forearms on the table. “My question to you is, what do you want?”

“I’m looking for justice.” Dean pushed the mug away from him. He already started making plans to get away.

“By impersonating a Federal Agent?” Tony laughed. “Try again.” He cleared his throat. When the man across from him looked at him, Tony continued. “Also, please don’t run. I am really dead tired and not in the mood to go and run after you.”

“You think you’ll be able to catch me?” It was Dean’s turn to smile. “You can try, but you won’t catch me.”

“Can you outrun a bullet?” Tony cocked his head.

Dean smiled, but he didn’t answer.

“I’m going to repeat my question and depending on your answer I’ll decide on what to do with you.” Tony spoke up when he realized that the man across from him wasn’t going to answer him. “Why are you interested in these cases? What do you want?”

Dean remained seated, but he also remained silent. Now was not the time to speak. He had to formulate a plan to get out of the diner. He had to get a plan which would not involve killing the very special agent before him. Dean felt regret that he wouldn’t be able to spend more time with the man. They would’ve been good together.

Tony cocked his head. “What? Not going to answer me?” He grinned. “Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.” He reached over and unzipped his go-back. Out of his peripheral vision he saw how tense McCarty became. Tony slowed his actions down. He didn’t want him to run. He took out the file and placed it down on the table between them.

“I’ll tell you one thing about yourself, and then you can tell me another and so we will go on until I’ve got the whole story in order for me to decide just what to do with you.”

Tony smiled as the waitress brought their breakfasts. He moved the file to the side and reached for the salt and pepper. “I’ll even go first.”

Dean kept his eyes on the file that was placed on the table. It was placed face down and he had no idea on what it contained, but he had a feeling what it might be.

“Eat, it’s good food.” Tony indicated the plate which was left unattended.

Dean remained silent and just stared ahead.

“You really want to play hard ass now?” Tony took another bite of his bacon and moaned as the crisp and salty taste exploded in his mouth. “Love bacon. Would eat it every day if I could.” Tony took another bite. When he got no response, Tony closed his eyes for a second and gathered his thoughts. “You really are planning on doing this the hard way.” He shrugged. “Your choice.” He took a bite of his toast and pushed the plate to the side and dragged the file closer.

“24 January 1979.”

Dean failed not to react. His eyes met the green ones that stared at him. He balled his fists on his thighs.

“Nothing?” Tony shrugged. “Want to give me a second go?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “2 November 1983.”

Dean growled and rose to his feet.

“Sit down or I will arrest you.” Tony’s imitation of Gibbs’ voice was spot on and had the required effect as the man across from him took his seat once more.

“Dean Winchester.” Dean gritted through his teeth.

Tony nodded. “Mother, Mary Winchester née Campbell.”

“Father John Winchester.” Dean’s raspy voice spoke up softly.

“Older brother to Samuel Winchester.”

“Sam, he preferred Sam.”

Tony nodded. “Sam. Born 2 May 1983.” Tony looked at the file and opened it up. “You had a tough childhood, Dean.”

Dean merely shrugged. Many people thought so, but to him it was mostly good. It was bad when his mom died in that fire, but dad did what he could for them and he had Sammy. He had to swallow at the lump that formed in his throat. “Get to the point.”

“If it was only so easy.” Tony flipped open the file and looked at a mug shot of Dean. It was supposed to be several years old, but to him it looked like Dean hadn’t aged a year. “You’ve made it on the FBI’s watchlist a few times.”

Dean didn’t respond.

“I’ve been arrested by the FBI two times for suspected murder.” Tony smiled when Dean’s head snapped back. “Yeah, we don’t get along too well. Especially me and agent Sacks. That man just can’t stand me.” He sighed dramatically. “Luckily, Gibbs had managed to uncover the truth.” It was Tony’s turn to shrug. “What I am trying to say, Dean, is that I know how it feels to be hunted by the FBI. I really do.”

“Is this now the part where you’d say, hand yourself over and you’ll protect me?” Dean snorted. “Do I look stupid to you?”

Tony shook his head. “My original question still remains unanswered.”

“And _my_ original answer still stands. Justice.”

“For what? Your father, your brother?” Tony pushed. “They slaughtered ten people.”

“NO!!” Dean roared as he jumped to his feet. Before Tony could react, Dean had gotten out of the booth and stormed for the door.

Tony had no choice but to follow. He managed to grab the file and the go-bag and was hot on Dean’s tail. He ran outside and saw Dean disappear around the corner. Tony growled as he tried to push the file in the bag and at the same time continue to run. He could’ve left the file and bag in the diner, but he didn’t want to answer questions later on where he got the file from. Tony managed to sling the bag over his shoulders and started running hard. He’d already drawn his weapon but hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. He was sure that Dean wasn’t responsible for the two deaths they were investigating now.

Tony rounded the corner and nearly stumbled over his own feet. He found Dean, but the man wasn’t alone. Instead, he was fighting with what appear at least three other men. They were built like rocks. “NCIS! Freeze!” Tony shouted the order as he aimed his weapon at the group of fighting men. He didn’t dare to take a shot as he didn’t want to shoot Dean, but he hoped that the shouted warning would make the men retreat. It seemed like they didn’t give a damn. He looked on as Dean ducked beneath a fist that would’ve taken his head off if he didn’t manage to get away in time. Dean rolled to the floor, got up on his feet in a single smooth motion and punched the same guy that send him sprawling on his back. Tony hissed in sympathy. That guy was going to have a major headache when he woke up there. He moved closer now that the fight was two to one. It seemed like Dean knew how to fight. Some of the moves would’ve impressed Gibbs.

Tony moved closer when the guy on the ground sounds signs of stirring. He could’ve joined but had a feeling that Dean wouldn’t hesitate to knock his lights out. It was better for Dean to get tired out and then he’ll just point him with his firearm again. Hopefully then Dean would cooperate more. But in the meantime, Dean was still going strong and Tony had the feeling that he would be the one who stepped out of the ring victorious. He cringed when a hit landed on the side of Dean’s head. It made the blond stumble back, but he stayed on his own feet miraculously.

Tony was so focused on the fight in front of him, that he didn’t see the movement behind him until it was too late. An arm as thick as a log snaked around his neck, while a quick snap had his weapon lying on the ground. The man behind him wasn’t only as quick as lighting, but he was nearly seven feet from what Tony could tell and he had no difficulty in picking Tony clear of the ground. Tony clawed at the arm around his neck. Already he could feel his airway restricted as he gasped for breath.

“Winchester!” The man behind him shouted.

Tony looked on as Dean’s head snapped around where he’d finally got the second man on the ground.

“Give up, or we’ll kill him.” The man increased the hold around his neck. Tony stood on the tip of his toes.

Tony wanted to snort, there was no way that Dean would give up. He didn’t owe Tony anything, not even his life. His vision blurred as he tapped and even scratched with his nails to get rid of the crushing power around his neck.

“Let him go.” Tony was sure that he heard Dean talk, but he could’ve been mistaken as well.

“Don’t think so, Dean. It’s time you came with us.”

“Go to fucking hell.” Dean quickly turned and landed a solid punch on the mouth of the one goon which was still standing.

Tony’s eyes grew dim as he gasped for air. He heard a buzzing sound in his ears and wished he could breath. Suddenly the hold on him changed and he found himself being grabbed by the back of the hair, his neck bent so far backwards that for a moment he was scared it would be snapped. He couldn’t see properly, but something cold and wet was pressed against his neck.

A second voice sounded up. “Last chance, Dean.” It was a woman’s voice.

Tony’s body was turned as his vision cleared from no longer being strangled, he looked on as Dean’s shoulders sagged. Another goon stepped out behind a parked van and pushed Dean to his knees.

“Do it.” The female behind Tony spoke up again.

Tony gasped as the man behind Dean lifted his hand and plunged what looked like a syringe into Dean’s neck. “NO!” Tony yelled as Dean slumped forward and fell to the ground.

“Don’t worry. He won’t be harmed.” The female walked around and came to a halt before Tony. “Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for you.”

The last thing Tony saw was her smile. It was sickening as two sets of teeth filled her mouth. The second set was razor sharp. He wanted to say something snarky, but a searing pain in his neck made him gasp for air. Something wet snaked down the side of his neck and as the pain finally registered, he screamed and it became dark.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**NCIS Bullpen – 19:45**

Vance was the one who lost it first. He knew that the agents around him were just as surprised as the man next to him, but he had enough. One of his agents was missing and it seemed as if the once promising McGee failed to realize just how serious this was. He didn’t even look at David. After what transpired in this room a few minutes ago, he would make sure that she’s sent back to Israel as soon as possible and McGee would be demoted to probationary agent and sent back to FLETC for re-training and he would make sure that the man knew what it was to ride a desk until he finally realized that they were working with lives that were at stake.

He took a deep breath before he spoke again. “Agent McGee, David, hand over your credentials and weapons and leave this office immediately. You will not be allowed into this building or have any contact with any employee of NCIS until further notice.” He indicated to his own security detail to step forward and to escort them out.

“We did nothing wrong.” Ziva dared to speak up.

Vance placed a bracing hand on Gibbs’ chest and he saw Balboa taking hold of Gibbs’ other arm. “Except for deciding that there was nothing urgent in the fact that an NCIS agent is missing and that after viewing the CCTV footage which we found, voiced your opinion to say that it is clear that Agent DiNozzo is incompetent and if it were you in that situation, you would’ve taken them all out. You then said you felt that he deserved it as Agent DiNozzo always acts high and mighty and that shows that he’s not as superior as he believes himself to be.” Vance nodded. “Yes, you’re right. You did nothing wrong.”

He closed the distance between them and stared her down. “You see _I_ was wrong. I should’ve made sure to send you packing the first time, but then I decided that I would play nice with your father, but not again. This time around I’m doing the right thing. Get out of my building and stay out. I do not want to see you here again.”

“You cannot do this, my father…”

“Your father will do nothing.” Vance interrupted her. “Get out of I will have you forcefully removed.”

Ziva growled.

“Ziva.” McGee grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He didn’t say a word as he handed his credentials and weapon over to Balboa. It seemed like he made a grave mistake, but now was not the time to act. Now he had to listen and pray that Tony would be all right. He couldn’t look Gibbs in the eye as he moved passed the senior agent on his way to the elevators. His ears burned red as the agents turned their backs on them. He heard Abby sob and his heart ached. He was so stupid. He shouldn’t have listened to Ziva. He should’ve taken it more seriously, but he didn’t. This was on him. _‘Please be all right, Tony.’_ McGee prayed silently before the elevator doors closed behind them.

*****SESA 2018 *****

It didn’t matter that it was already eight at night. The whole building still buzzed with life. In fact, the moment they realized that they had an agent missing, the building filled up. When the elevator doors closed, Vance spoke up again. “Get moving, people. We need to find Agent DiNozzo. Get to it!” He looked at Gibbs. The senior agent was as white as a sheet and he wondered if it was out of fury or out of worry. “You doing okay, Gibbs?”

Gibbs looked up and nodded once. He turned to Balboa. “Let’s look at the footage again.”

Vance moved closer to the screen and the three men once again looked at the grainy footage to look for any possible clues. “What else do we have?”

“Tony’s Mustang was found parked at the Diner. I spoke to Elaine and the waitress who served Tony. He was there this morning before eight. He met up with Dean Winchester.” Gibbs looked at Vance.

“The man who posed as an FBI agent?”

“Yes.” Gibbs handed him a file. “Got this sent by Garcia Penelope over at the BAU. Seems like she sent a similar copy to Tony earlier this morning.”

“Morgan spoke to you?” Vance asked.

Gibbs nodded. “Hotch and Rossi as well. They’ve already offered their assistance.”

“We’ll keep them in mind.” Vance looked as a woman appeared from the shadows and the last part of the scene played out. “Freeze.” He ordered as she came to a halt in front of DiNozzo. “You think she’s the girlfriend you’ve been looking for?”

“Yip.” Gibbs stared at the screen. “Can we get this cleared up?” He turned to Balboa.

“Still trying.” Balboa answered. He’d taken a seat at McGee’s desk and was typing away inserting commands in an attempt to get them a clearer picture.

Gibbs wanted to reply, but Abby’s voice made him turn. He knew she was distraught by what she’d witnessed here in the bullpen, but Jimmy and Ducky had taken her down to her lab. He was surprised to see her running towards him.

“Abby?”

“I found something.” She grabbed the clicker and pointed it at the screen. New images appeared. “I ran a search on the Impala found parked at the Diner and which we know belongs to the imposter. I found it parked in different locations, but I also found this.” Abby indicated to the screen. In the distance they could make out a black van. The same van that they saw pulled up at the scene and where Tony and Winchester were loaded in to.

Abby zoomed in and the registration number became clear. “It belongs to a Daniel Elkins. I don’t have anything on him yet, but I am running a search. His address is still unknown. The address on his driver’s license is a local coffee shop so that’s a dead end.”

“Any connection between Elkins and Winchester?”

Abby shook her head. “Nothing yet, but I’m still looking.”

“I’ll help.” Balboa rose to his feet. “The software for enhancing the picture is running on its own. It will let us know when it’s done.”

“Good.” Gibbs turned to Vance. “I need to visit that scene again.”

“I’m coming with.” Vance fell into step with the senior agent. He could only hope they would find something and that it wasn’t too late.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**The alley behind the diner – 20:30**

Gibbs used his flashlight to lighten the darkened corners as he meticulously walked the space from one end to the next. Vance was at the opposite end doing the exact same thing. Their crime scene unit had already scanned the area and he’d been through it himself, but he needed to do it again. His gut kept on turning and he knew that Tony’s time was running out.

Something small caught his attention and Gibbs hunkered down. With a gloved hand, he leaned in closer and picked the item up. The blood drained from his face and as he got to his feet he wobbled.

“Gibbs?” Vance asked with concern as he reached his friend and held him steady.

Gibbs turned and stared at Vance. His mind was running at a thousand miles a second. “We need to get this to Abby.” He held out his hand.

“What is that?” Vance frowned. He took the item and looked at it. “Is that a fang?”

Gibbs nodded. “It seems like Ducky might be right.”

“About what?” He didn’t understand.

“Vampires.”

“Gibbs?” Vance gaped at his senior agent. “What are you talking about?”

“It seems like monsters do exist, Leon and they’ve got DiNozzo.”

*****SESA 2018 *****

**Undisclosed location – 02:35 (Following morning)**

“Let him go, you’ve got what you’ve wanted. He’s got nothing to do with this.” Dean tried again as he swung from the beam he was tied to. He’d seen how the bitch had eyed Tony. The jealously that raged through him didn’t surprise him. He’d known Tony was something special when he first saw him.

Mercy laughed as she circled him. She dragged her finger across his torso. Her nail sharp enough to leave a deep red scratch behind. “You’ve got such an amazing sense of humor, Dean.” She leaned in and licked at the blood that ran down the side of his face.

Dean cocked his head. He ignored her comment and the fact that she continued to lick him clean or the fact that he wanted to gag at the sight of her doing that. He focused his attention on the man that hung by his wrists across from him. Tony was naked, just as himself and he had to say, Tony looked fantastic. Thoughts crowded his mind and Dean pushed them down. Now was not the time to think about things like sex.

“Don’t ignore me, Dean. I don’t like to be ignored.” Mercy hissed out her displeasure as she sank her fangs into Dean’s side. She groaned as the hot blood filled her mouth and she sucked hard.

“Fuck!” Dean screamed and tried to move away, but the fact that he hung by his wrists didn’t give him much room to get away. “Get off me you fucking bitch. You are worse than Kate.” He hissed as she slammed her fangs into him again.

“You have no right to speak her name, Dean.” Mercy scowled.

“And why not? Ashamed of her because she didn’t stay and fight?” Dean sneered. “And then we caught up with her and Jenny and we took their heads.” Dean grinned. “Did you ever hear the story how Luther died?”

Mercy bit down on Dean’s side for a third time. She grinned when he yelled. She stood back and licked at the blood that covered her lips. It was so fresh and sweet. It didn’t taste like any other blood she had before. “Luckily for you I am not a lady who takes offense at being called a bitch.”

“Yeah? Maybe it’s because you’re not a fucking lady.” Dean snapped back. He twisted his arms, even though he knew he wouldn’t get free from the ropes that bound him.

The slap against his cheek made his eyes tear up, but he didn’t flinch. “Ouch.” He grinned as he taunted her. He looked up and nearly gasped as he saw Tony’s green eyes staring at him. He slowly blinked in an attempt to show Tony to close his eyes. He didn’t need the bitch to know that Tony woke up. He looked as Tony closed his eyes and was grateful when they remained closed.

Mercy managed to hold her temper. Lysander would not be happy with her if she damaged Dean Winchester to such an extent that it would take days for him to recover. They wanted him on their side. It would take some convincing, but Lysander was sure they’d be able to persuade Dean to do just that. It just seemed that they needed to be more creative. She yawned, her fangs clearly visible. “I would’ve loved to spend more time with you, but I really need my beauty sleep.” She leaned in and licked at the last drops from the wounds on Dean’s side.

“You heal so fast.” She was impressed. Mercy circled Dean once more before she made her way over to the human across from Dean. He was still unconscious, although his heart rated seemed a bit faster. Mercy cocked her head. She wondered if he was faking it. She leaned in, but before she could bite down a voice made her jump backwards.

“Mercy! I do hope that you were not planning on taking a sip out of our guest? Especially since I told you not to do so.”

“Lysander.” Mercy shook her head. “Never, my Lord.” She kept her movements sensual as she walked over to where Lysander stood. “I was only making sure that he’s still breathing.”

Lysander shook his head. “Have you forgotten that we’ve got excellent senses and that you can hear his heart beat by just listening?” He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to his side. “Do not disobey me on this, Mercy. You will not enjoy the punishment.” Lysander growled in her ear as he bowed his head and covered a mark on her neck with his mouth. He bit down hard and he groaned as her tainted blood filled his mouth. He held her to his body as he took his fill and only released her when he was sated.

“Get some sleep. I will join you shortly.” He kissed her once and then turned away from her. He focused his attention on the two men. They were both magnificent and he felt himself stir with want. Lysander did not act on it. Now was not the time for cardinal pleasures.

“You do realize that I will kill you the moment I am free.” Dean spoke up as he caught the over three-hundred-year-old vampire staring at Tony.

Lysander laughed. “No, you won’t. You see, Dean the moment is near for you to truly belong to me. To join my nest and to become part of my clan. You will become my right-hand man. The only option you’ve got is to do it voluntarily or be forced, but by sunrise tomorrow morning you will call me _Sire_.”

Dean growled. “It’s been five years. Don’t you get it, I will never call you that.”

“You never had the right incentive, but this time, it’s different, isn’t it?” Lysander circled Dean once before he walked over to where the human hung. He took his position up behind Tony and placed his hands on his hips.

Dean started to struggle in all earnest. He didn’t want the vampire to touch Tony. No one had the right to touch Tony. Tony was his. “No!” Dean roared, and Lysander laughed.

“Finally figured it out, didn’t you?” Lysander Let go of the human and walked back to Dean. “You’ve got a choice to make, Dean. And do remember, that choice is not really for your benefit, now is it? Get some rest. It’s going to be a long day for you. You’ll be rather hungry when we talk again. Hopefully that will encourage you as well.” Without a further word, Lysander walked out of the room and locked the door behind him.

“Fuck!” Dean screamed. He yanked at the ropes, but they wouldn’t loosen. He stilled when Tony spoke up.

“She’s the girlfriend.” Tony’s voice sounded raspy.

“In your two homicides?” Dean tugged on his bindings.

Tony nodded. He looked up. “Vampires are real.”

It was Dean’s turn to nod. “And a lot of other monsters too.”

Tony lowered his head. He had listened to the conversations and had so many questions, but he had no idea on where to start. What he did know was that Gibbs had never let him down. He would come and rescue him. Of that he was sure.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**NCIS Bullpen – 10:45**

Ducky looked on as his oldest friend paced between his desk and Tony’s desk. It wasn’t large enough, but Gibbs didn’t seem to mind. They had gotten the DNA analysis back on the fang Gibbs found from where Tony was taken. Not only did it matched the DNA found on Priest, but it contained the same DNA as the tooth Tony found at the Stiles crime scene and it was the same as the DNA on the ten bodies. Unfortunately, that was the only progress they’d made.

Michael Balboa had finally managed to clear the image of the woman, but they still had no idea of who she was. Agent Balboa’s team had taken copies of the photos and went to interview everyone connected with both Priest and Stiles. They have yet to make any progress.

Ducky looked up when Abby, with Palmer short on her heels stormed into the bullpen. “I found something.” She was totally out of breath.

“What?” Gibbs placed himself in front of the screen.

“Do you know about belly button fluff?”

“What?” Gibbs asked, annoyed.

“Just listen.” Abby took a deep breath. “Belly buttons, they are of no use to us after we’ve been born, and we seem to forget about them, unless you’ve got a thing for them, or have a piercing, but that’s not what this is about.” Abby shook her head. “No. Instead, it’s about what we found in their belly buttons.”

“You’re not making sense, Abby.” Gibbs tried not to growl.

“When you wash, you normally take your sponge, or bathing cloth or whatever and you wash your stomach with broad strokes, most people don’t actually deep clean their belly buttons and so stuff gathers there as well. Not much, but still. I once had this boyfriend who loved sleeping under this super soft, long-haired blanket in the buff and I’ve realized that even though he bathed every day, sometimes twice a day, he always had at least one piece of fluffy wool stuck in his belly button.” Abby wanted to add that Gabriel had a very sensitive belly button, but the look on Gibbs’ face told her that it wasn’t time to share that piece of information.

“And?”

“Well, we swabbed both Priest’s and Stiles’ belly buttons.”

“That is brilliant, Abigail. What did you find?” Ducky came to his feet.

“Dirt.” Abby grinned. “Dirt only found in these areas.” She clicked the screen and a map appeared. This is all still farmland but is not being used as such.”

“Why not?”

“It was laced with salt.”

“What?” Gibbs looked at Ducky.

“The land was made barren.” Ducky stepped closer to the screen. “I will tell you the story another time, but to say that it was a practice used many years ago where salt was worked into the soil. It was normally done by those who were victories in wars and it was done so that the people couldn’t plant again. That soil became barren and couldn’t be used again.”

“Are you saying that’s where our victims were?”

“Yes.” Abby was positive.

“What other information do you have?”

“Still running programs, but there was a total of five farms neighboring one another that were declared not useable for farming. It was bought up by a private company, but since then nothing else happened there. I’ve obtained satellite photos of the area, but we’ll need to access MTAC to get more recent data.”

“Then what are we waiting for.” Gibbs took out his phone and called Balboa while he ran towards the stairs to get access to MTAC. They finally had a lead.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**Undisclosed location – 12:50**

Tony groaned as his body sagged between his abused shoulders. Streams of blood ran down the inside of his arms as he’d tried to free himself, but without success. He was worried about Dean. The other man had become silent, his body trembled although it was stuffy in the room and his breathing sounded labored. He’d also been ignoring Tony for the last hour, if not longer.

He swallowed, but there was nothing in his mouth to parch his throat. He could feel how thick his tongue was. His lips were cracked, and he did no longer sweat. It wasn’t a good sign. He knew he was severely dehydrated, but that wasn’t the only thing that was wrong with Dean.

“Dean,” Tony called out. “Dean, answer me.” He tried again. “Come on, buddy, talk to me. Please.” He tried to wiggle his wrists, only more blood oozed out of the abrasions.

“Stop.” Dean’s soft voice reached his ears.

“Dean.” Tony lifted his head. “You all right?”

“Stop,” Dean whispered again.

Tony frowned. “You are all right, Dean. We’ll get out of here. Gibbs will come to the rescue. You’ll see.” He struggled again.

“STOP!” Dean roared.

Tony’s head snapped back. He stared at Dean and he swallowed hard. Dean’s eyes were no longer green speckled with different hues of brown. Now they were blood red and Tony knew. “You’re one of them.” He lowered his head. Gibbs was going to be too late.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Abandoned farm – 15:35**

Dean finally managed to break free of the ropes that held him captive. His own wrists were torn to shreds, but he didn’t care. There was just one thing he wanted – needed and that was food. His unsustainable hunger was back. He could smell the blood from the human right in front of him. Dean balled his fists and shook his head. He didn’t feed from humans. He wouldn’t do that, but he was so hungry. Dean wanted to take another step towards the human but forced himself to stop. He looked around, he had to get out. The human groaned, and Dean moved forward again.

Dean cocked his head. The human looked familiar, but through his hazy red vision it was difficult to see his features clearly, even with his enhanced eyesight. Dean took two steps and finally closed the distance between himself and the human. He could clearly hear the man’s heartbeat as it thumped within his chest. The man smelled of fear, but if you looked at him, you wouldn’t have been able to notice it. Dean had to admit he was drawn to the human in a way he couldn’t explain.

Dean could feel how his gums ached, how his second set of teeth wanted to burst out and sink into that supple neck to drink that rich blood until he had his fill. He could imagine licking the bitemark, getting all of the blood from that smooth skin and look as the bitemark disappeared to a faint scar. That first bite would be the primary mark – their bond mark.

Dean’s own thoughts made him stumble back. _Bond mark_. He turned his head to the other side. This human was his mate. _His_. _Tony_. His mind finally gave him the answer and Dean reached out to touch the man, but something slammed into him from the side. He landed with a hard thud on the floor. The impact was so hard that he skidded across the room until he came to a halt against the far wall.

With an animalistic growl Dean leaped to his feet. His attacker already stood before him. Dean didn’t hesitate but went on the attack. Both vampires traded blows. They knocked one another against the walls, their power made the walls crumble and the wooden floor crack. Blood poured from the various wounds they’d managed to inflict on each another.

A movement out of the corner of his eye made Dean scream with pure rage. He moved forward, the vampire before him got shoved to the side as he tried to get to his mate. His mate who was being untied by two vampires and something inside of Dean screamed that he had to get to him, otherwise it would be too late.

Another body slammed into him and Dean got pinned to the floor. He bucked his hips to throw the man off, he used all of his strength, but the vampire stayed on top. “Get off me, you fuck!” Dean screamed out the words in frustration. The log of a vampire on top of him didn’t even move an inch.

Dean changes tactics and he went limp. He looked on as they freed Tony – his mate – and they started to drag him off. When the two vampires with his mate hanging limp between them exited the room, Dean moved again. He managed to surprise the vampire on top of him and shoved him away. A fair-sized dent appeared in the wall as the large body slammed hard into it. Dean lowered his shoulder and stormed. He caught the vampire around the waist, lifted him right of his feet, pivoted and slammed him hard into the floor. As the vampire appeared dazed, Dean picked him up, grabbed him by the arm and swung him head first into the wall. The impact had the vampire stumbling back and before the man could recover, Dean jumped up on his back and with his supernatural strength ripped the vampire’s head from its shoulders and flung it to the side. Dean was off his back even before the vampire could tumble to the floor.

Dean turned and charged towards the door. He had to stop them, they wouldn’t be allowed to get away with what belonged to him. As he turned the corner, he got jumped from behind. Dean knew it was his own fault, he should’ve checked and made sure it was clear, but the blood lust he felt was hampering his ability to think clearly and he made unnecessary mistakes.

He roared in anger and pain as something got jammed into his neck, just next to his shoulder. His knees gave in and his red vision turned black. The last thing he heard was Lysander’s voice and then he knew nothing more.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**NCIS Bullpen – 17:25**

“What do you have, Abby?” Gibbs looked up as Abby came to a halt in front of his desk. They were all beyond exhausted and frustrated out of their minds. It seemed like all of the possible leads they followed turned out to be dead ends.

“Daniel Elkins died in 2006.”

Gibbs closed his eyes. That was not what he wanted to hear.

“He was attacked by a wild animal.”

Gibbs opened his eyes. “He’s linked to this.”

Abby nodded. “Unfortunately, no DNA samples were collected so I can’t run it against what we’ve got.”

Gibbs nodded as he closed his eyes again. They kept on running into brick walls and Tony’s time was running out. He would never give up, but he wanted to find his agent; his friend alive. He did not want to find his body several months down the line dumped in the middle of nowhere.

“I got something.” Balboa jumped to his feet. A huge smile decorated his face.

“Talk to me, Mike.” Gibbs came to his own feet.

“I finally found the Elkins’ black van on a traffic cam. And from there I started tracking where the van drove. I managed to pick it up on different traffic cams and it was definitely tailing Winchester. I compiled a route map using all the different roads I spotted them on and in the end, they kept on using one specific road.” It was his time to use the remote. He brought up the same map that Abby used to show them the farmland.

“Do you know which farm?”

Mike shook his head. “No. There are no traffic cams in that vicinity.”

Gibbs slammed his hand down on the desk. They had a general area, but they didn’t have the time to search each farm one by one. He wanted to lash out when Vance spoke from the mezzanine level.

“Finally got a satellite for our use.” He had a frown edge on his face. They’d been trying for almost seven hours to get a satellite in position to obtain life footage from the area. None of their usual satellites were available for use.

“Let’s go.” Gibbs was on his feet and up the stairs even before Balboa or his team could get to their own feet.

Gibbs scanned in first and jogged down the stairs. Vance was short on his heels, followed by Balboa, his second in command and Abby. Gibbs had to remain patient as the satellite images had to clear up before they could finally see what was going on. He wished he had a button with what he could fast forward everything and find the van, identify the farm and head out.

Time seemed to crawl by, but finally an image appeared and the whole room erupted into chaos. The black van was parked in front of a large structure that appeared to be a barn of some sort, but it was clearly divided into different rooms. “I want infrared imaging.” Gibbs barked the order.

It seemed like the technician who worked the controls was used to Gibbs’ orders as the infrared imaging appeared within mere seconds.

“Got them.” Several heat signatures were visible on the large screens. Most were grouped together, but two images were separate. Gibbs had no doubt in his mind that one of those heat signatures belonged to Tony.

“I want to know everything about that farm.” Gibbs looked at his watch. It was about a two hours’ drive to there. They still had to get the tactical team up to speed on what’s happening. By the time they would be ready to go in it would be dark. Gibbs grimaced at the thought, but he wasn’t going to wait for daylight either. He was getting Tony back today.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**Abandoned farm – 18:35**

Dean awoke with a gasp. He went from unconscious to awake and on guard within a single second. His body felt weak, his limbs heavy and he knew he was injected with dead man’s blood. He’d done it to himself before and knew exactly what it felt like. It would take a while to work out of his system, especially if he didn’t eat. He was hungry, really hungry, his bloodlust still not taken care of and he knew he was starting to lose control over himself. He couldn’t let that happen. Dean bowed his head. Tony had seen his monster side. It was one side he never wanted the NCIS agent to see.

“Mine.” Dean shuddered at the single word that escaped from his mouth. He always knew vampires mated for life, but he never knew that they could sense their life mates even before they were bonded. He had to find Tony. He had to make sure Tony was all right and then he would leave. He would not turn Tony. It didn’t matter if Tony was his life mate, he would not let Tony become a monster like himself. But first things first, he had to get out.

Dean slowly got to his feet and looked around in the room. It was different from the first. This one smelt like old stale blood. The rusty brown marks on the walls and floor made this a slaughter room. Dean growled at the thought. He might be a monster himself, but he _never_ hunted for the fun of it. And, he never willingly took a human life. He knew he’d fed from a human after he was turned, but he had no real recollection of that. He’d been grateful. Since then, he only fed from animals. He needed to feed more regularly, as animal blood didn’t sustain him for as long as human blood would do, but he managed.

The last five years had been hell. The thoughts of that night threatened to overrun him, but he pushed it back. He didn’t need the pain of thinking of the night Sam and his dad got killed and he got turned into a monster. That morning after the ambush when he woke up and realized what had happened, he’d made a vow to himself, but also a vow to Sam and John. He would avenge their deaths and he would not kill humans. He’d managed to wipe out all of Luther’s pack, but the one who turned him was nowhere to be found. He’d been on Lysander’s trail from that day on. He never had the urge that he was supposed to have to call the vampire _Sire_. He also knew that it didn’t matter what Lysander tried to do, he would not call him anything else, except monster.

Dean made it to the door and turned the handle. It wasn’t locked. Dean growled. He knew this had to be a trap, but he had no choice, he had to step out of the room and he had to do it now. Dean checked the hallway and found it deprived of life. He used his enhanced sense to search for life signs but found the whole building empty. His gut turned. He didn’t like this one bit. Dean moved down the hall when a blood curdling scream sounded through the air.

“Tony!” Dean yelled and started to run.

*****SESA 2018 *****

It was the cold that brought him back to reality. Tony opened his eyes, and for a moment he panicked – he couldn’t see. But his eye adjusted to the darkness and he could make out the trees around him. Everything was red. He tried to rub his eyes, but it didn’t work. His stomach ached, and he doubled forward as waves of pain ripped through his abdomen. He couldn’t help it as he screamed. It felt like he was dying. His gums throbbed it was as if he had too many teeth in his mouth and he was hungry – so fucking hungry.

He stumbled forward, he had to get something to eat. He moved through the woods and didn’t even care that he was still naked and that he picked up cuts and nicks as he stumbled through the trees. A noise to his left made him stop in his tracks. He smelled _food_. He had no idea what it was, but knew he had to have it. Without hesitating Tony moved. He still stumbled, but he was also light on his feet. He pushed through the trees and reached a clearing. Tony grinned as his tummy growled. He found food. He took a step forward and then another. It took him mere seconds to reach the food source.

Tony groaned as his gums ached. He opened his mouth and could feel teeth pushing up through his gums. He sighed in relieve as they breached the surface. Tony smiled as he looked at the beefy man that was staked out on the ground. He acted on instinct as he crawled over the man’s prone body and licked at his neck. He didn’t hear the man beg, he didn’t even smell when the man lost control over his bodily functions, he only wanted to do one thing – eat.

He leaned in and latched at the man’s neck. His extra teeth made it easy to bite through skin, flesh and muscle as he sank his fangs deep and started to suck. Tony moaned. The blood was warm and rich, it tasted like nothing else he had before. The man continued to struggle beneath him and Tony used his hands to hold him down as he continued to drink. He needed more and more. Tony had no idea on how long he drank, but finally the man stopped struggling beneath him and he no longer felt the hunger gnawing at him. He rolled off from the body and grinned. “Fuck.” His voice sounded strange to his own ears. Tony licked his lips, he could feel the stickiness of the blood coating his skin. He continued to lick his lips until they were clean. He closed his eyes, he was really tired.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Lysander grinned from ear to ear where he stood between the trees and looked on as his youngest _child_ took his fill from the human provided for the sole purpose of being food. He actually felt giddy at the prospect of using the new vampire to get Dean Winchester to join his pack. Few knew just how powerful Dean was and if he could get Dean on his side, they would become the strongest pack in America. They would rule the vampires. When he saw Tony roll to the side, Lysander slowly moved out between the trees. He didn’t want to scare the new vampire into running.

“Did you enjoy that?” He held his hands up in to show the youngling that he was unarmed. Lysander was impressed when the new vampire rolled seamlessly to his feet and crouched before him ready to attack. “Easy, I’m not here to harm you. I only wanted to make sure you had enough to eat. If not, I know where you can find more.”

At first Tony wanted to attack. He didn’t want to share his food source. It was his. But then his instinct kicked in and he realized that the man before him was like him. Except that he had no idea what he was. Human? He looked at the body. He had drained it and although it should disgust him, he couldn’t care less. “Who are you?” Tony finally managed to ask.

“Lysander.”

“Weird name.”

“Yes, but also very old.” Lysander pointed at the body. “You’ve yet to answer my question, are you still hungry?”

Tony shook his head. “Full.”

“Good, but since you’re still so young you would need to eat more often. I will make sure that you get all the blood that you need to stay sated.”

“Why?” Tony cocked his head.

“Because you’re my responsibility. I’ve got your back.”

 _‘I’ve got your six.’_ Tony frowned at the strange words that popped into his head and gasped as images slammed into him. He sank to his knees and held his head. A white-haired guy with blue eyes frowned at him, smiled at him, slapped him on the back of his head, gave him coffee, helped him with etching wood. The images continued in a loop. It went so fast that he couldn’t stop it. He felt himself scream, none of it made sense. “Gibbs. Gibbs!” Tony called out.

Lysander grinned. He loved it when the younglings first experienced their old memories. It brought strange reactions out of them and if they really had a strong connection with the person, they would go and look for them in an attempt to turn them. They always killed them and that was the icing on the cake. They get lost in grief, turn to the pack for comfort which is provided until they let go of the past and concentrate on the future. It had worked for millennia, until Dean Winchester came along. When he failed to kill his father and brother, Luther did it himself. His _brother_ had made a grave mistake, he should’ve turned them. Dean had witnessed the kill and something inside of him snapped. He’d attacked the pack, killing each and every vampire that crossed his path. It was then that he realized just how special Dean was. That’s the reason why he had to be extra careful with this new vampire. If he wanted Dean to join, he should make sure this youngling stayed close to him. He would guide him in killing those he ones perceived as being his family and after that he would make sure that Dean was there for comfort. Between Dean and their care, the bond to the pack would be established and they would stay. Dean would finally call him _Sire_.

Lysander moved forward, but something slammed into his side and he tumbled to the ground. _‘Dean’_. It was his only thought before he was yanked to his feet. Dean attacked him without mercy. Lysander had to block each hit, each kick, each grab made towards his head. He knew he was in a fight for his life and he fought hard. Both vampires fought dirty. Biting and going for cheap shots were part of surviving.

Lysander saw an opening when Dean left his left side open and he took it with the intent to take Dean down. He had to get him to submit to him. He never saw the move for what it was until it was too late.

“I told you I would kill you the moment I was free.” Dean growled and then twisted. He broke the vampire’s neck in one smooth move before he ripped it off and tossed it to the side. He looked on as the monster fell to the ground. He’d finally gotten his revenge. Dean sagged to his own knees. He was so hungry. He could smell the human blood in the air. He’d seen the human body on the ground and knew it was too late. Tony had been turned and he had failed. Dean looked up at the young vampire who was on his knees with his hands over his ears. He could hear Tony whimper and his own heart ached. He had to get Tony out of here, away from here. Dean got to his feet and at the same time a single figure moved out from the trees.

“NCIS, freeze!” Gibbs yelled as he pointed his weapon on Dean.

“Fuck!” Dean yelled and started to run. He heard the gunshot, felt the bullet enter his chest, but it didn’t stop him as he barreled on. He had to reach Tony first. If he didn’t, Agent Gibbs would die. A second shot sounded and Dean leaped.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**Abandoned farm – 19:55**

Gibbs hated the fact that it was pitch dark by the time they arrived on the farm. He and the rest of the NCIS agents had to use NVGs borrowed from the special response unit to see what was going on around them.

They’d started at the barn and even before they could breach the doors, MTAC informed them that the satellite images they received, showed people fleeing from the back. It had them scrambling around to catch those who tried to escape. He and the response unit entered the remodeled barn from the front. It had been eerily quiet, although there had been a metallic smell in the air. At first, Gibbs couldn’t think what it was, but then he came across the body when they searched the rooms and knew what had caused the smell – blood, and a lot of it. He knew they would find more bodies, unfortunately he didn’t realize just how many there would be. From the stench that greeted them some had been there for a while. The body with its head ripped off couldn’t have been dead for more than an hour. It was gruesome and even he had to swallow a few times not to lose the contents of his stomach.

Gibbs wanted to scream out of frustration when he found no sign of Tony in the large area. He’d found a room where it looked like at least two people had been tied up, but he couldn’t tell how long ago that was. The room also smelled of blood and the stains visible on the walls definitely had a story to tell.

_“Movement at the back of the barn, deeper into the wounds. Four heat signals picked up. Two seems to be in some sort of fight. One close by, and a fourth moving towards them.”_

It was Vance’s voice that sounded through his ear as Gibbs sprinted into action and ran to where Leon indicated movement had been seen. He didn’t care about backup, he had to get there. His gut screamed that it was Tony.

The trees he had to move through were denser than what it initially looked. He got caught a few times and knew his NCIS jacket picked up a few tears as he trampled through the wooden area. Gibbs tried to contact MTAC again, but only got static through the comms. He checked his phone, and it showed no service. It made him seethe with anger. He couldn’t understand why at this critical time communications would go down. Gibbs replaced his phone and moved forward. There was nothing he could do about the comms being out of order, but he could find and rescue Tony.

Finally, he could hear voices. Most of the words didn’t make sense, except that he recognized Tony’s voice, although it sounded muffled, as if he had something in his mouth and struggled to talk. He didn’t recognize the second voice.

As he moved forward and stood just behind the last trees, he saw Tony with an unknown man. A body was sprawled out on the ground. The man looked dead. It must be the one of the two people Vance saw fighting. Although, it couldn’t have been much of a fight. He saw the wooden pegs in the ground with the ropes leading towards the sprawled-out body. He wondered who the second fighter was. It bothered Gibbs that Tony was naked. Through the NVGs he couldn’t clearly make out if Tony was injured. Gibbs frowned, there was something off about Tony. It was as if he’s whole posture was wrong. Gibbs wanted to move forward, but his gut told him to stay put. He reached for his phone again – still no service.

Movement to his left made him lift his weapon higher, but before he could call out a warning, a figure burst through the underbrush across from his position and tackled the unknow male. It was only then that he recognized the fake FBI agent Dean Winchester. Gibbs couldn’t take a chance to fire a shot. Winchester might have impersonated a federal agent, but he’d noticed how the man was attacked and abducted. Gibbs couldn’t be sure about who was the bad guy or who was the good guy. However, that became clear when Winchester completed a move that had him not only breaking the unknown man’s neck, but he ripped it off his shoulders. The blood sprayed, and before he could think twice about what had happened, he called out for him to freeze. Winchester wasn’t human, he was a monster. A vampire.

Gibbs kept the weapon level. He looked on as Winchester looked at him and then at Tony. He heard him curse and then the monster ran towards Tony. Gibbs didn’t hesitate but pulled the trigger. He knew he hit center mass, but it didn’t slow Winchester down for a second. He pulled the trigger again, but by then Dean had leaped and landed on Tony. Gibbs frowned. Tony was much closer to him than mere seconds ago. He didn’t even see his second in command move.

Gibbs couldn’t fire his weapon for a third time, he couldn’t take the chance to hit Tony. He kept his weapon raised as Tony and Winchester fought. He had taught Tony a couple of moves over the years, but Winchester would give him a run for his money. It was then that he saw something else. Winchester had managed to turn their bodies so that he was in between Tony and himself. He frowned at the action and looked on as Tony tried to sidestep the vampire. Gibbs raised his weapon again. He’d never before shot someone in the back, but it was the best option he had. Tony would not last long against something that was inhuman. The monster took Tony down in a record time but instead of killing him, Winchester kept him pinned to the ground. It didn’t make sense. Gibbs moved forward. What he heard made him even more confused.

“Please, Tony, please, calm down, please. It will be all right, please. No, no, stay down, don’t try and get up, I don’t want to hurt you, Tony. Please, keep still, it will be all right, I promise you.”

The monster’s words didn’t make any sense. Gibbs moved towards them. He pointed his weapon at the vampire. “Get off Tony and slowly move away. Keep your hands where I can seem them at all times.”

Dean grunted as Tony’s elbow slammed into his ribs. At least he didn’t lose his hold he had over the struggling vampire. “Fuck,” he moaned when Tony bit him in the shoulder. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was trying to stop Tony from killing the older agent, Dean wouldn’t have cared if Tony fed from him.

“I will not repeat myself, do it!” Gibbs barked.

Dean laughed. “You were a Gunny in the Marines.” He shook his head. “If I let Tony go, he will kill you.”

“Tony will not hurt me, now get off him.” It bothered Gibbs that Tony hadn’t acknowledged him in any way or manner. Instead he continued to fight and fight hard against the man on top of him. The sounds that me made sounded inhuman. And then Winchester moved and Gibbs stumbled backwards. Even through the NVGs he could make out the blood on Tony’s face. It was smeared all over his face, even his chest and arms were covered in blood. But it was Tony’s face that shocked him more. Tony’s eyes were glowing red and he snarled and all that Gibbs could see where teeth – teeth that did not belong in any human mouth. He stumbled backwards. “Fuck.”

“Sorry, I’m so sorry.” Winchester’s words sounded in Gibbs’ ears, but he had no idea if he was talking to him or to Tony. Gibbs was at a loss. He had no idea of what to do. He found himself staring at the man he knew as his friend struggling against the one he thought was the monster.

Dean hissed. He was starting to lose his grip on Tony. The vampire was stronger than him, and the fact that he’d been shot drained his strength. He changed his hold. “Agent Gibbs.” He called out but received no reply. “Fuck, man, now is not the time to freak out, so snap out of it, Gunny and help me!” Dean used the tone of voice his own father used on him and Sam and he sighed when it seemed to work.

“What do you want?” Gibbs took a deep breath.

“Check the body for a syringe. He should have one on him.”

Gibbs didn’t need to ask which body. Only one had clothes on. Of course, it would be the one without the head. He knelt next to the body and patted it down. He found something in the left-hand side trouser pocket. He yanked it out. It was a capped syringe. The liquid was dark, but he couldn’t make out what it was.

“Any time now!”

Winchester’s words had him back on his feet and next to the two men’s side in seconds.

“Did you find one?” Dean grunted as Tony’s elbow once again made contact with the gunshot wound in his chest.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Jab Tony with it. And do it quickly. I can’t hold on for much longer.”

“No. Not until you tell me what it is.” Gibbs remained standing.

“Fuck. Now is not the time for twenty-questions, dude. Just do it.” Dean grunted out.

“No. Tell me.”

Dean wanted to scream out of frustration. “It will help to calm him down. I promise you, it won’t hurt him. I will never hurt Tony.” Dean held his breath. He had a feeling that if he told Gibbs it was dead man’s blood the agent would toss the syringe away and then both of them would be in trouble.

Something in Winchester’s tone of voice made Gibbs aware of the fact that the monster was telling the truth. Tony was still struggling against Dean’s hold. Gibbs nodded. Leaned in, uncapped the syringe and jabbed it into Tony’s leg. The result was almost instantaneous. Tony’s body went limp and Winchester released his hold. Gibbs placed the barrel of his pistol against the back of Winchester’s head. “Hands in the air, slowly move away.”

“Man, now is not the time for this.” Dean grumbled, but he did as he was told. 

“On your knees, cross your ankles and interlink your hands behind your head.” Gibbs instructed as he reached for his cuffs.

Dean did as ordered but spoke up. “You’ve got an hour, hour and a half at the most before Tony wakes up again. By that time, you either need to have blood to feed him, or have him locked away in a room where he can’t escape from. That means no windows, and no doors that can be ripped from the wall.”

“Keep quiet.”

“No!” Dean screamed but managed to stay in position. “I will not keep quiet. You need to do as I say, or Tony will kill everyone he finds. He will go into a blood frenzy and you’ll be unable to stop him, please. Listen to what I’m telling you.”

“Why must I listen to you? It’s your fault.”

Dean bowed his head. “Yes, it is my fault and I can’t tell you how sorry I am about that, but me being sorry is not going to solve this problem. You doing what I tell you to do will.”

Gibbs cuffed the monster and dragged him up to his feet. “Why do you care?”

Dean closed his eyes for a second. “Because he’s my mate.”

“What?”

Dean looked at the older man. “Vampires mate for life. Tony is my mate and I am his.”

“Bullshit.”

Dean growled. “Do you think for one moment that I will make up stuff like this because I want to? I really don’t have the time or the patience to do something like that. You either believe me, or you don’t, but I’m telling you once again, Tony will kill you and any other human he can get his hands on unless you help him, unless you let me help you. Please.”

Gibbs lowered his head. He had no idea on what to do. His gut had settled down since he’d injected Tony with whatever was in that syringe. “What do you want to do?”

Dean sighed in relief. “The barn, there should be a room, like a war bunker. We need to get to that.”

“A bunker?”

Dean nodded. “Yes. It will be made of steel, with only one entrance. No windows, and the door is made out of reinforced steel – like a mini vault door.”

Gibbs nodded. He’d seen the room and had thought it was a safe. Now it seemed to have a totally different purpose. “I know where it is.”

“Good. Uncuff me so that I can carry Tony and get him there.” Dean turned around and showed Gibbs his cuffed hands behind his back.

“No.”

Dean shook his head. “So _you_ want to carry him, while at the same time you cover me with your weapon.” Dean sighed. “Don’t be stupid, you know it would be better for me to carry Tony.”

Gibbs hated to agree, but Winchester was correct. He wouldn’t been able to keep an eye on the monster and carry Tony at the same time. He reached for the key and quickly uncuffed Dean. “Try to run and I will shoot you, even if it is in the back.”

“You’ve already shot me twice, I don’t want a third bullet in me.” Dean grunted.

Gibbs’ vision traveled down Dean’s body. He grimaced when he saw the two gunshot wounds in Dean’ chest. “You should be dead.”

Dean nodded. “And if you take my head, I will die, other than that, I am immortal. Tony is immortal.”

Gibbs could only stare. For once he had no snotty remark to fling back, so he only nodded. “I will keep that in mind.”

Dean grinned as he picked Tony up bridal style. “I know you will, Gunny. I know you will.” Together the two men made their way back from where they came. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

When they came out of the woods with the barn in front of them, Dean came to a halt. He lifted Tony a bit higher so that his head rested snug against his neck. “You cannot let the rest of the agents know about me.”

“And why not?”

Dean snorted. “Really? Do I need to spell it out for you, Agent Gibbs?” Dean looked down at Tony and he knew that Gibbs could see his facial expression through the NVGs. “Because you’ll be condemning Tony as well. Very few humans know about the things that go bump in the night. If they find out what Tony is, what do you think will happen to him? You will never see him again, he will disappear from your life forever.”

Winchester’s words made sense and Gibbs knew the vampire spoke the truth. “What do you want to do?”

“Get them out of here. I know this is a crime scene and it needs to be processed, but I need that room. Tony needs that room and it might be fortified enough for him not to break out of, but it’s not soundproofed. He’s going to yell and scream and they’re going to hear that. They can’t. You need to clear this place. Everyone needs to leave.”

“There’s a satellite as well.”

“Fucking great. Let me guess, infrared imagery included.” Dean managed not to gaze up at the night sky. He should’ve known they would use all technology available to find their missing agent.

“How do I know you won’t kill Tony?”

Dean turned so slowly with Tony still in his arms that it looked like he did it in slow motion. “I know you do not believe me, Agent Gibbs, but I will not harm Tony in any way. He is my life mate. If he dies, I die. Not immediately, it will not be so easy, but I will waste away until there’s nothing left of myself except an empty shell. But, for me, that will not happen, I will follow Tony into death moments after he passed over. Other than that, you’ll just have to trust me.”

Gibbs looked at the monster and took in the way he cradled Tony against his chest. “I will clear them out.”

“What about the satellite?”

Gibbs cocked his head. “Let me worry about that, you take care of Tony and understand me Winchester, if Tony dies, you will not get the chance to take your own life, because I will kill you before you can blink.” He closed the distance between them. “Is that clear?”

“Crystal clear, Gunny.” Dean smiled.

“Good.” Gibbs placed his hand on top of Tony’s head. He ignored the snarl he heard from Winchester. “Stay safe, Tony. I’ve got your six.” He nodded at Dean and then walked towards the barn. In a loud booming voice, he started yelling.

Dean had moved backwards in between the trees and hunkered down. He watched as Agent Gibbs cleared the whole area of agents and the response unit. They moved away from where he hid with Tony and headed towards their vehicles. Within seconds they all moved out and he remained alone. Only when the normal night sounds sounded up did Dean move into the barn. He had to find the bunker room, since Gibbs couldn’t show it to him, but Dean knew it wouldn’t take him too long to find. He had to lock Tony in and then he needed to go hunting. Tony was going to need blood and lots of it. It was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Abandoned Farm – 21:10**

Dean had been keeping an eye on Tony since he came back from his quick hunt. It had bothered him that it took Tony longer to recover from the dead man’s blood than what it should’ve taken, but then on the other hand, Tony was still a youngling and his body was still changing. Dean lowered his head. This was not what he wanted for Tony. He’d never thought that he’d find his life mate. Hell, he never thought about life mates. In his book, vampires were monsters. But even monsters have families, so it should’ve been something he thought about. Instead, he ignored it, like he ignored most things when it came to being a vampire.

There were so many things he had to tell Tony. He really had no idea on where to start. He didn’t even know if Tony would ask questions, or if he wanted to continue to live. Dean shuddered at the thought. Yes, Tony had the right to say that he didn’t want this life. It wasn’t a real life anymore. He would no longer age, he would not be able to work a stable law enforcement job ever again. He would have to start changing his identity. He wouldn’t be able to stay Tony DiNozzo for the rest of his life.

Dean had yet to consider what he would do if Tony chose death. He wouldn’t try and sway Tony in any given direction. The only reason why he was still alive was because he had to find and kill those responsible for Sam’s and his dad’s deaths. Of course, now he had another reason to life, but that was his reason and not Tony’s.

His hand came to a rest on his naked chest. The bullet wounds were healing nicely. Already the marks no longer bled and the flesh had knitted together in ugly scar tissue that would soon smooth out and disappear. Before the end of the day the marks would no longer be visible.

His sensitive hearing picked up the change in Tony’s breathing and he readied himself. He knew that Tony would wake up disorientated, hungry and aggressive. He didn’t want to fight his life mate, but he would do just that to keep Tony safe. To calm his fears and to curb his hunger. If he could do that, then they’ve passed the first hurdle. Unfortunately, it would be only the first of many.

Tony’s eyes snapped open and Dean felt a ping of regret as he took in the bloody red eyes instead of the hazel green eyes Tony had before. They would change back to their normal color, but not for a long while. Until then, Tony’s eyes would be red.

“You’re safe, Tony. Nothing is going to hurt you, I promise you.” Dean made sure that there was enough space between them as to not crowd Tony, but the room they were bunkered in was only just as big. “You must be starving, here is enough blood to sustain you for a while.”

He’d managed to find the necessary equipment in the barn to get the animal blood into blood bags. He was surprised to see how organized Lysander’s pack really was. He didn’t want Tony to feed directly from the source, not now in any case. It would take patience and time before Tony would be able to hunt and drink on his own.

Dean slowly picked up one of the many bags of blood he’d stacked up and held it out to Tony, who, after his eyes snapped open had moved himself into the furthest corner away from Dean and just growled at him. He knew Tony was confused, but he also knew Tony wouldn’t be in any position to talk to him until he had fed. Until he fed, his raging hunger would control his actions, and nothing would get through to him. Dean spoke to him in an attempt to let Tony get used to his voice. So that Tony’s subconsciousness would remember that Dean’s voice meant safety, meant food.

He received no response, but by the way Tony’s body tensed up, he knew Tony would be attacking him at any second. “You want some blood? It’s fresh.” Dean opened the port at the bottom of the blood bag and squeezed it gently until a few drops of blood flowed out of the tube. Dean saw the moment Tony smelled the blood and he fixated on the bag in his hand.

“You want this?” He held out the bag. Tony was younger than him and still not used to his enhanced abilities, it meant he would be fast, but Dean knew he was faster. When Tony leaped, and he did leap, Dean let Tony’s hand grab the bag and at the same time he moved away. It worked as Tony started sucking vigorously on the bag. He squeezed it so hard that the blood spilled from the top and he couldn’t suck it up quickly enough and the red liquid dripped over his fingers and onto the floor.

Grateful for the fact that he stacked the bags of blood all over the room, Dean opened up the next one and just in time. Tony whimpered as nothing else came out of the bag but then smelled what Dean had and leaped again. They repeated the cycle for six times before Tony finally slowed down.

Dean looked on as recognition returned to Tony’s eyes and his heart ached as the youngling stumbled back when he realized he was covered in blood. Dean knew from experience that Tony would remember what had happened the first time he fed in techno color. He closed his eyes as Tony screamed, but didn’t go near him. Tony didn’t know his strength and if Dean tried to comfort him now, Tony might attack him and even though Dean would be able to stop him, he had a feeling it would cause Tony just more guilt. He had no choice, he had to keep his distance – for now.

*****SESA 2018 *****

It was the penetrating hunger that brought him back to consciousness. He had no idea on where he was, but the presence of the figure across from him made him realize that he wasn’t alone. He needed something to eat, he knew that if he fed, he would feel better. He heard the figure talk, but didn’t understand the words, but he did smell what he needed, and instinct told him to take it, even if it meant to fight.

Tony kept on feeding. The figure remained out of his reach but gave up his food without a fight. Tony felt the hunger subsiding, he found himself drinking slower and become more aware of his surroundings. He, they were in a room. No windows and a single door. A door made of steel from what he could see. Tony cocked his head. He had no idea if it was to keep him in or keep something out.

He stayed wary of the figure, which now started to look familiar. He sucked and found the bag empty. He looked down at his hands and frowned. His hands were covered in blood. His arms, his chest, his whole body was tainted in different shades of red. Blood. And then he remembered.

Tony screamed. His throat burned as the horror of what he had done resurfaced. He remembered the man on the ground. Naked, staked out with no way of defending himself. He heard the man plead for his life, but it didn’t matter. The hunger inside of him wanted to be fed and he didn’t even think about it for a second before he sank his teeth into the man’s neck and he drank. He could hear the man’s heart as it got faster with fear before it slowed down due to the strain and then finally stopped as he took his last breath and Tony drained him of his blood – of his life.

Tony fell to his knees. “NO!!!” He slammed his fist against the concrete floor. He had killed a man. He was a murderer. He was a monster.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Dean was on his feet and next to Tony even before Tony’s heart-breaking scream died off. He didn’t care anymore that Tony might attack him, instead he crouched down, took Tony in his arms and held him against his chest. He enclosed the weeping and trembling man in his arms and held him safe. He was prepared to fight Tony to keep him calm, but the man in his arms stayed where he was. Dean didn’t know why, but he also didn’t care. Tony was safe with him and that was the important thing. Dean had no idea about how long they sat together like that before he realized that Tony had quieted down and was now asleep on his chest.

For a moment Dean closed his own eyes and got his raging emotions under control. Tony would be hungry when he woke up from his nap. Dean understood how being turned into a monster took its toll on the human body. It was like riding a rollercoaster, just as exciting and scary at the same time. It happened at break neck speeds until it slowed down, and it came to a halt. The problem was that even if the cart you were in came to a halt, your body was still digesting what had happened to it. That’s why you felt wobbly on your feet when you climbed out of the cart. That’s the reason why you laughed out too loud, shook at the same time and looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Your hands shook, and it wouldn’t calm down until you either got into another ride to get a second rush or sat down and let your body catch up. Either way one or the other time you needed to come to grips with what you’ve done. You needed to decide if you wanted to do it again, or if that was it.

There were still blood bags all over the room, but he also needed to clean it up a bit. He had to toss out the empty bags which couldn’t be salvaged to be used again. He would clean Tony up and himself and with some luck he might even get a pair of shorts on Tony’s frame, although he knew from experience that Tony’s skin would be over sensitive to the touch and being naked was more bearable.

Dean hated to release Tony, but he also knew that he couldn’t do what he wanted with Tony cradled against his chest. He hoped that Tony would be a bit more aware of what was going on around him when he awoke from his sleep. It took a while for the vampire and human body to sort of get into sync, but it was around the third feeding when the younglings would be a bit calmer and more controlled. They would start asking questions, although their thoughts were more on how to get out of this situation. In the end most tried to run as if they could get away from themselves. It didn’t work that way.

Kicking himself mentally for not thinking of something as simple as a blanket, Dean had no choice but to place Tony down on the concrete floor. He turned him to his side and dragged his hand through the dark brown strands of hair. “You’re safe, Very Special Agent DiNozzo.” Dean smiled. He finally let go of Tony’s hair and with sure movements he tidied up the room. If he wanted to get clothes for Tony, he’d have to leave, and he didn’t want to do that. Instead he grabbed a wash cloth and dipped it into one of two buckets of water he’d placed out of the way. That one would be for washing up and the other one for drinking. He wished the water could’ve been hot, but at least it wasn’t icy cold. He wrung the rag cloth out and made his way to where Tony was still sleeping and gently started wiping him clean.

Tony was well built. He had defined muscles, without being bulky and a definite six pack made him look yummy. Dean rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. It was not uncommon for pack mates to feed from one another, especially during rounds of sex, but it was a far more intimate experience for life mates to feed from each other.

Dean was fortunate enough to learn a few things about being a vampire and gain more insight into the lives of a mated couple when he searched for Lysander and his pack. Not all vampires were evil. It was something that he struggled with for a very long time. It had brought out conflicts within himself to the foreground that he no longer could ignore. For one, he himself was a vampire, and he knew he wasn’t evil. He had started killing monsters at a very young age, but he never took the life of an innocent. If he then said that all vampires were evil, then it meant he was also evil. He had managed not to take a life of another human after he’d first been turned. The man he killed – he didn’t know what he was doing and that was something he would make sure Tony understood as well.

There was a cure for a newly turned vampire to be turned back into a human, but it brought on amounts of pain, sometimes the younglings didn’t survive, and, in most instances, there was no one in the vicinity to administer the cure. Dean knew of no hunter who carried the cure with them. Instead, hunters did the thing they were taught to do – they killed. It didn’t matter that the youngling hadn’t fed, it was a vampire and therefor it had to be killed. It had made Dean realize that vampires and monsters were not the only evil things out there. Sometimes humans fell into that category as well.

Tony shifted against him and Dean got pulled out of his musings. He tossed the rag to the side and picked up the bag of blood next to him. From now on he would guide Tony as he fed. Tony had to realize that food would always be available, and that he didn’t need to gorge. When Tony realized that there would be food, he would then take Tony out to hunt. Of course, he would have to make sure there were no humans in the area and it would be a while before he would be able to take Tony near any humans again.

When Tony’s eyes opened, Dean smiled. They were red in color, but he could see some speckles of green as well. Tony was hungry, but not in the grips of blood lust. He’d be able to feed Tony and hopefully keep Tony calm.

Dean settled Tony against his chest in one sure movement. “Here you go.” He placed the bag against Tony’s lips and squeezed it gently. He smiled when Tony placed his hand over his and started to drink from the offered bag of blood.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Once again it was the hunger that brought him back to the realm of reality. But there was something different this time around. When he’d opened his eyes, the man he now recognized by smell was right in front of him. Before he could speak up, the man beat him to it and something was placed against his lips. Tony opened his mouth automatically and when the rich blood coated his tongue, he grabbed the hand around the bag and swallowed big. His hunger ebbed away but then the memories stared up again and he shivered. Tony tried to get away, but the man – no, not a man, a vampire – Dean held him close to his chest. Words reached his ears, they didn’t make sense, but he couldn’t stop listening to them, couldn’t help leaning into the body behind him. He felt so confused.

A second and third bag was placed against his lips and he drank them all. Tony moved his head to the side when a fourth was placed against his lips. He was no longer hungry.

“How you feeling?”

Tony looked up. The eyes that stared down at him were filled with sympathy, but held no pity. They were filled with understanding and showed no indication of rejection.

“It’s not a nightmare.” He tried to sit up, but the hand across his chest kept him there. Tony realized that he didn’t care.

“Unfortunately, not.”

Tony nodded against the chest and looked around him. He snorted when he realized that he was naked.

“You want to share?”

Tony laughed and shook his head. “I’m in a place that I don’t know. I just drank three bags of blood, I am a monster and yet, it’s the fact that I am naked that concerns me the most.”

Dean chuckled. “I can relate.” With ease he turned Tony so that he could look him in the eyes. “Yes, you are a monster, but not all monsters are evil.” He said it with all the conviction he could muster. He believed it, but he needed Tony to believe it as well.

“Do you really believe that?”

Dean nodded. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been here today.”

“Why?” Tony asked with a frown.

Dean looked up. He knew what he had to tell Tony, and that he would tell Tony everything. His life mate would be at his side for many years, but for now he would have to be satisfied with the condensed version of things.

“I have known about monsters since I was four years old.” Dean took a deep breath and he told Tony what had happened on the 2nd of November 1983. He told him about everything and only halted when he came to the date of 12 July 2006. Dean cleared his throat. He was grateful for the fact that Tony didn’t interrupt him. He knew the youngling had a lot of questions for him.

“Myself, Sam and Dad were hunting a pack of vampires. We received information on their whereabouts and headed there. Sam rode with me and we followed Dad in his truck.” Dean smiled. He missed them so much. “The information we got was incorrect and instead of the pack consisting out of a male and three females, they numbered fifteen. They also knew that we were coming. By the time my dad realized it was a trap it was too late. We had only one choice left and that was to fight.”

Dean lowered his head. “I got separated from Sam and my dad and got trapped in a room with four vampires. I managed to kill three, unfortunately for me, the co-Alpha of the pack didn’t kill me, he turned me. He fed me his blood and then he set me free.” Dean closed his eyes and shivered. When a hand settled over his he lifted his head. Tony stared at him. His eyes were green now with speckles of red in them. There was hope.

“Lysander wanted me to kill Sammy and dad. I wouldn’t.” Dean snorted. “Apparently that’s not something I was supposed to do. I was supposed to follow my _sire’s_ orders and do what he commanded me to do.” Dean shook his head. “Lysander’s brother and the other Alpha to the pack by the name of Luther, became furious and he killed Sam and dad in front of me.” Dean looked up. His own green eyes were bloody red. “I returned the favor. I killed every vampire I could lay my hands on. That included Luther. Lysander got away. I have been hunting him and the rest of his pack now for five years.”

“Lysander?” Tony swallowed. “That’s the vampire from here? I think I also saw him in the woods.”

“Yes.”

“He’s the one who made me? Who turned me?”

“I don’t know.” Dean answered in honesty. “They took you from me and I had to fight to get free. By the time I found you again, you’d already fed.”

“You mean when I’d killed an innocent man.” Tony struggled against the hands that held him tight. “Let me go.” He jumped to his feet the moment the hands released him. He sprinted towards the door and tried to yank it open.

“It’s locked.” Dean slowly came to his feet. “You did what you did out of instinct, Tony. Nothing more.

Tony ignored the last comment. “Unlock it,” he snarled.

Dean shook his head. “I can’t. Not now in any case.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Tony yanked at the door again. It didn’t even move an inch.

“Both,” Dean replied honestly.

Tony snarled and with a leap he attacked Dean.

Dean was taken by surprise. He didn’t think that Tony would attack him so quickly. At first, he tried to block the attack, but he realized quickly that Tony wasn’t holding back and that he was in a fight for his life. Dean didn’t want to take Tony down, but he also knew that he couldn’t let Tony win this fight. He lowered his stance and then as Tony launched at him again, Dean moved forward. He stayed crouched until Tony was nearly on top of him before he leaped straight into the air. Dean landed on Tony’s back and with a practice move he brought Tony down. “Sorry, Tony.” Dean whispered in his ear as he got him in a choke hold and didn’t let go until Tony stopped struggling and lost consciousness. The moment that happened, Dean leaped away and sobbed. He didn’t want to do that, but at least he had left Tony alive. He stumbled away until he reached the two buckets of water. He dunked his head into the one and kept it submersed. He wouldn’t die like this, but at least he could try.

After many minutes, Dean came up for air. He looked around and saw Tony still on the floor where he’d left him. He got to his feet and reached for one of the syringes he stashed there. Dean walked back to Tony and without thinking about it, he jabbed the syringe filled with dead man’s blood into Tony’s body. It would keep him out of action for the next few hours. Dean didn’t want to, but it was for the best. He would not give up on Tony and he wouldn’t let Tony give up on himself.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**Gibbs’ basement – 5 days later**

“You want to run this by me again?” Leon asked as he swallowed the glass of brandy Gibbs poured him down in one go. He shuddered at the burning sensation but held out the glass for a second.

“It’s not going to change if I repeat it again, Leon.” Gibbs took a sip of his own drink. He would’ve liked to swallow it down in the same way Leon had done, but one of them had to remain clear headed and by the look of things it was going to be him.

“Humor me, Gibbs.”

Gibbs placed his glass down and slowly sank down the wall until he sat down on the saw covered floor. “I wish I could see it as a joke.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.

“Damn it, Gibbs, you know that’s not what I meant.” Leon joined his senior agent on the floor.

“I know, Leon.” Gibbs took a deep breath. He kept his eyes closed as he retold the events of what had happened in that clearing behind the barn for a second time. He bowed his head. “And now I have no other choice but to say that Tony is a monster and I don’t know if he’s going to make it or not.”

“What are you going to tell Miss Sciuto and Doctor Mallard?”

“What I’ve been telling them the last five days. What I told you, Leon when I made contact with you when we left the farm after I’ve realized that they’ve all escaped. Tony is missing.”

“Not dead?”

Gibbs shook his head. “We can make up a story should he ever come back if I say he’s missing, but how do I explain saying he’s dead and then he comes back?”

Leon nodded. “You’ve got a valid point there. You also know there will be a country wide search for him.”

“I know, and I have no choice but to hope that Winchester would be able to keep him safe until…” Gibbs didn’t complete his sentence. He had no idea on how to complete that sentence.

“Do you know how he got all of the satellite imagery deleted?”

Leon didn’t need to say to whom he was referring to for Gibbs to know he spoke about Dean Winchester. He didn’t tell Leon that it was him who got rid of the satellite imagery. If the shit hit the fan, he didn’t want Leon, or anyone else at NCIS to get hit by it. It was better if Leon believed it was done by Winchester. “Don’t know. Don’t care.” Gibbs shrugged his shoulders. He had a few friends who didn’t ask any questions that he could still rely on.

“You’ve heard nothing else?”

Gibbs shook his head. He found a driver’s license on his front porch yesterday morning. It was of the man he’d seen in the woods. It was also because of the license that he went out to the farm, but found it totally abandoned. There were no signs of either Tony or Winchester on the farm to even indicate that they had been there. There was also no sign of any of the bodies he knew they left there, but he did find what looked like a funeral pyre. It was still smoldering, but he didn’t investigate it. He had a feeling they wouldn’t find anything there that might be of assistance.

He also had no idea if he would ever hear from Winchester again. Unless the vampire contacted him, or Tony contacted him, he had no idea about where they were. Gibbs lowered his head. “I was too late, Leon, to save Tony. I just hope…”

“That this Winchester saved him?” Vance completed the statement.

Gibbs nodded. Yes, he hoped that Winchester saved Tony, because if he did not, then well, then he would personally take Winchester’s head.


	6. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**8 Months later**

Tony grunted as he landed on his back for the fifth time in a row. He hissed as his body protested, but he still managed to get to his feet and face his opponent. “Why are you grinning?”

“Because you’re making me dinner tonight?” Dean smiled as he leaped forward.

Tony laughed even as he jumped into the air himself. The two vampires collided in midair. The air crackled around them before they landed on their feet. They were at each other’s throat. They fought hard and dirty, but, in the end, Tony found himself on the ground again. This time Dean straddled his hips. Tony placed his hands on the vampire’s hips to keep him there. “I still can’t believe it.”

“What?” Dean grinned again as he leaned in and took a kiss from Tony.

Tony groaned and deepened the kiss. He lifted his hips for more friction and then twisted his legs. It had the required effect as it dislodged Dean from him and gave him the opportunity to switch their positions. He pinned his mate to the ground. It was his time to grin.

“Nice move, I wonder who taught you that.”

Tony laughed. “Just this guy.” He shrugged. He traced Dean’s skin with his hands. His eyes turned red for a moment as Dean shivered beneath him. Tony took a deep breath and his eyes turned green again.

“You’re amazing, Tony.” Dean cupped Tony’s face with his hands.

Tony blushed. Their relationship in these past eight months had grown by leaps and bounds. Dean had shown him what it was to live, and he knew for a fact that he’d done the same for Dean. Both men, vampires, had deep seated issues. Most noticeable – daddy issues, but between the two of them they’d helped each other to realize that their fathers were not perfect. That John had had no right to raise Dean and Sam as hunters, but he’d done it because he’d thought it was the best for them. That Anthony DiNozzo Senior would always be a douche, but that Gibbs’ dad, Jackson and Ducky and even Gibbs himself to an extent filled that gap of a father figure to Tony and for that they were truly grateful.

Tony had learned about the world of hunting. He had met Bobby Singer and other hunters. He loved the research of the hunts but made sure he always had Dean’s back.

Dean had learned the finer points of being an investigator and how to blend in.

Tony had learned that Vampires did bleed. That they had reflections, and that they loved garlic. But most importantly that they could be killed by taking off their heads.

Dean shared stories about Sammy while Tony shared his love of the movies with Dean.

Together they grew into a truly mated pair.

Tony snorted with laughter again.

“What?” Dean asked as he took his turn and flipped them again.

Tony continued to smile. “I still can’t believe we don’t sparkle.”

Dean groaned, but he also smiled. It was the first non-serious question Tony had asked when they finally came out of the worst. He had looked at Dean and in his serious voice he asked if they sparkled. For a moment Dean had been flabbergasted, he had no idea what Tony referred to, but then he remembered, and he’d cursed. Fucking Twilight.

*****SESA 2018 *****

Tony gasped as Dean’s mouth enclosed around his bond mark in his neck and sucked hard. His toes curled as his mate shifted forward and his cock slipped deeper into Tony’s pliant body. He shivered as Dean merely thrust forward with his hips, rocking them together ever so slowly letting their pleasure built up in waves. “Fuck,” he whispered against Dean’s skin as Dean’s cockhead rubbed against his prostate sending another current of electricity through him.

“You’re so beautiful,” Dean’s voice sounded next to his ear.

His bond mark throbbed and Tony moaned as Dean kissed him hard on the mouth. He could taste his own blood on Dean’s tongue and his already hardened cock twitched at the thought of sharing his life mate’s blood. “Please.” He moaned as Dean thrust forward again.

“Want you to come on my cock,” Dean whispered the words as he lifted his hips, changed the angle of entry into Tony’s tight channel and thrust forward. He increased his speed as flesh slapped against flesh and his cock brushed against Tony’s prostate on every forward motion. The channel around his cock tightened up and Dean knew Tony was on the brink of no return. He moved their bodies without dislodging himself from within Tony and then as he pushed upwards again, he whispered against Tony’s skin and then sunk his fangs into Tony’s bond mark.

Tony heard the word and at the same time his orgasm slammed into him and he found his own fangs lengthen and he found his mark on Dean and sank his own fangs into Dean’s bond mark.

Both vampires rode the crane of ecstasy as they fed from one another while their bodies shuddered with release until it finally ebbed down. They sighed and withdrew their fangs. They licked the bond marks and held each other close. Dean stayed inside of Tony.

“Love you, Tony.”

“Love you more, Dean.”

They grinned and closed their eyes. It was time for a well-deserved nap and then they would go hunting.

*****SESA 2018 *****

**24 December going over to 25 December 2018**

**Gibbs’ house**

Gibbs closed the door behind him and leaned back against the glass for a moment. He felt his age this night. He’d turned sixty over the summer and was starting to think very hard about retirement. He knew Leon would support his decision. He’d done his dues and it was time for the younger generation to step forward and take charge.

Knowing that he had to get to bed before he fell asleep on his feet, Gibbs moved down the hall towards the kitchen on the right. His hand came to a rest on his holster as his dining room table came into view. “What the hell?” He looked around. The table was set for three, and in the middle stood a small Christmas tree, decorated with the finest of decorations he’d ever seen. He had to admit it looked beautiful. Unfortunately, it still didn’t explain who was in his house.

Movement behind him made him turn around. His weapon no longer in the holster but pointed at the intruder. “Tony,” he whispered the name and lowered his firearm. “Tony?” Gibbs cocked his head. “It can’t be.” The man in front of him looked exactly the same as he did seven years ago. Seven years. Gibbs slowly moved forward and reached out. His hand trembled, but he didn’t give a damn. He cupped the man’s face and before he could rethink his actions, he had the man he thought about every day in a hug against his chest.

“Tony,” Gibbs whispered again. They stood together for a long time. Gibbs gave Tony another hug and then moved backwards. Nothing in the world would take the smile on his face away. “You’re alive.”

Tony nodded. “I’m sorry.”

Gibbs frowned. “For what?”

“For staying away so long.”

Gibbs shook his head. He was about to speak up when a voice at his back beat him to it.

“I’m the one who should say sorry.”

Gibbs turned and shook his head. “Winchester.” He held out his hand in greeting. “You kept him safe.”

Dean grinned. “I promised you I would.” Dean shook the offered hand and then moved to Tony’s side.

“You haven’t aged a bit.” Gibbs grinned. “You really do look good, Tony.” He couldn’t help but to pull Tony close for another hug. He laughed when he heard a growl to his left. He released Tony and looked at Winchester. “Jealous?”

Tony laughed. “Both of us are, sorry.” Tony took Dean’s hand. “Play nice.” He addressed Dean. “I need to check on dinner.” He gave Dean a kiss and with a grin walked towards the kitchen.

Gibbs frowned. It was almost midnight. “Dinner?”

“Yeah, I know you haven’t eaten much, so I made dinner.” Tony replied as he worked in the kitchen. “Your refrigerator and pantry are stocked as well. Really, Gibbs, you cannot live on coffee and cowboy steaks only.”

Gibbs smiled. “Nothing wrong with either of that.”

“You sound like Dean.” Tony grumbled.

Gibbs looked at Winchester as the vampire burst out laughing. “See, I’m right. Steaks and coffee are all that I need.”

Tony’s head popped around the corner. “You sure about that?”

Dean blushed, and Gibbs cleared his throat. That was not something he wanted to hear. He turned and faced Winchester. “Thank you.”

Still with a grin on his face Dean nodded. “I am truly sorry it took so long for us to come back.”

Gibbs cocked his head. “I have a feeling you had your reasons.” He indicated to the living room behind them. “Have a seat.” He walked towards his couch and came to a halt. “DiNozzo!”

“Yeah, Boss?” Tony spoke up right behind him.

Gibbs nearly jumped out of his skin. “Hell, DiNozzo, make some noise when you walk. You nearly scared me to death.”

“Sorry, sorry, Gibbs.” Tony looked sheepishly at Gibbs and at Dean.

“He’s been working hard on it, Agent Gibbs.”

“Agent Gibbs?” Tony shook his head. “No, that won’t do. Call him Gibbs, hell, call him Jethro if you want to, but not Agent Gibbs.” Before Gibbs could respond, Tony continued. “And you, you call him Dean. Not Winchester.” He looked at both men. “Got it?”

“Got it.” Both grinned at him.

“Good. Now, you called?” Tony said with a glint in his eyes.

“What’s that?” Gibbs indicated to his living room.

“It’s called a living room, Gibbs.”

The slap on the back of his head and the growl followed by a thump sounded at the same time. “Don’t ever do that again.” Dean had Gibbs pinned against the wall.

“Dean. No.” Tony pulled his mate away. “I’m sorry. I did that on purpose.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Are you all right?” He posed the question to Gibbs.

Dean growled again. He didn’t give Gibbs a chance to respond. “What do you mean you did that on purpose?”

“Nothing.” Tony shook his head.

“No, Tony. What the hell?” Dean took Tony’s hand and pulled him away from Gibbs. He managed not to put Tony behind him, but he was pissed. Pissed at Gibbs for slapping his mate and pissed at Tony for allowing it. “Talk to me. What was that?”

“Winchester.” Gibbs’ voice sounded through the house.

“Stay out of this, Agent Gibbs.” Dean bared his teeth. All of his fangs were clearly visible.

Tony growled himself. He pushed Dean to the side and stood between the two men that meant the world to him. “Stop it, both of you.” He lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Both Gibbs and Dean asked at the same time.

Tony smiled. They were so alike, but yet so different at the same time. He needed them both. He looked at Dean. “Please, let me explain.” He turned to Gibbs. “Please.”

Both nodded and moved towards the brand-new furniture. Tony took his seat on the reclining sofa together with Dean and let Gibbs settle in one of the two new single recliners. The five-piece leather set fitted perfectly in the room. A brand-new TV stood to the side and Gibbs’ handmade coffee table stood in the center.

“This is my Christmas gift to you, Gibbs. When we came here this morning and I realized that you still had the same furniture as seven years ago I just couldn’t take it anymore and I got you this. And no, it cannot be returned. I did however store the old stuff in the basement.”

Gibbs wanted to respond, but he would have to be stupid to say that he didn’t like it. The chair he sat on curved around him, the aches in his body almost something of the past. “Thank you.”

Tony nodded and then cleared his throat. The next explanation was going to be a bit more difficult. He turned and faced Dean. “You know how I start to babble when I get nervous about something?”

Dean nodded but remained silent. He had a feeling that Tony had to get everything off his chest in one go.

“You know about Senior and I’m not going to rehash anything about him, but I quickly realized that if I wanted his attention I needed to act out. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t think it through. So, I acted out and he became physical. He never hit me more than once, never on the face and he never said he was sorry.” Tony bowed his head. “It went on until he shipped me off to different boarding schools and I finally ended up at RIMA.”

Tony looked up at Dean. “RIMA helped a lot. It was the push I needed to sort myself out and by the end of my senior year I knew what I wanted to do. I got the full scholarship to Ohio State and thought I had it made until Brad broke my leg and once again, I was unsure of my future. Then there was a fire in an apartment.” Tony swallowed and shook his head. It was one memory he hadn’t shared with anyone yet. Not even Dean. He didn’t think now was the time to dwell on that either. He took a deep breath. “In any case, I realized that I wanted to help people and I became a cop. I was good at what I did, until I tackled Gibbs in that street and he offered me a job.”

Tony smiled. “Gibbs was a hard, but fair task master. He expected results sooner rather than later, but then I started to doubt myself, especially after Danny and Wendy and I became nervous and I started babbling again and then he slapped me on the back of my head and everything fell into place.”

Tony turned and looked at Gibbs. “I am sorry. I just needed that to keep myself in line.”

“But then I became too used to it, and you never stopped it.” Gibbs swallowed. “You started acting out to make sure I didn’t take my ire out on the juniors in the team. First Kate and then McGee and even Ziva.” Gibbs bowed his head. “I assaulted you. I should’ve realized what you were doing. I shouldn’t have slapped you like that, Tony. Please forgive me.”

Tony shook his head. “There is nothing to forgive. I manipulated you. Something that I shouldn’t have done. I am the one who needs to ask for forgiveness.”

Dean came to his feet. “Both of you are asses.” He shook his head and faced Gibbs. “You will never slap him again or I will have your head and you.” He pulled Tony to his feet. “You will stop feeling insecure. Luckily for you when you start to babble, I only kiss you. You do not need to prove yourself. You are worthy.” He leaned in and kissed Tony full on the lips. He pulled away and looked at Gibbs.

“Come and give him a hug. He missed you so much. I’ll get dinner on the table.” He left the two men be and went to the kitchen to collect the salad and the lasagna. He loved Tony’s food.

Gibbs looked on as Dean walked away and came to his feet. Tony stood where Dean left him, and Gibbs didn’t hesitate to pull Tony into his arms and hug him tight. “I missed you so much, DiNozzo. I am glad to see you are all right.” He gently pushed Tony away. “It seems like being a vampire suits you?” He said it with a grin.

Tony laughed. “It’s good to see you too, Gibbs. And, yes, being a vampire does suit me.”

Gibbs cocked his head.

“What?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Gibbs. What is it?”

“Do you sparkle? I mean in sunlight, do you sparkle?”

Tony burst out laughing.

“NO. VAMPIRES DO NOT SPARKLE!” Dean’s voice echoed through the house. He came towards them, laughing.

When Gibbs saw Dean laugh, he shook his head. It was good to see Tony again. He had so many questions to ask.

Dean looked up and pointed at the large living room window. “It’s snowing.”

Tony grinned from ear to ear. He moved between Dean and Gibbs and placed his arms around their shoulders. “Merry Christmas, Gibbs. Merry Christmas, Dean.”

“Merry Christmas, Tony.”

**THE END**


End file.
